Clear the Lobby: What Laws are MPs voting on this week? W/C 24th January 2022

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!

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Hey team,

Another week, more drama for Boris Johnson.

On top of partygate, the prime minister now faces accusations of Islamophobia and blackmail within his ranks.

In Parliament, we could see Tories express their discontent by voting against the government.

But that’s assuming the agenda will stay as it is.

Once Sue Gray’s report drops, we could see lots of rejigging to account for lengthy debates on its findings.

The plan as it stands is to press on with the government’s agenda.

We see a new bill introduced this week tackling privacy concerns over smart devices like TVs and speakers.

Until next week. In the meantime, feel free to tweet me, or just reply to this email.

Sebastian (@sebastiansalek)

MONDAY 24 JANUARY

Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill – report stage and 3rd reading
Applies to: England and Wales
Begins widescale reform of the leasehold system. Restricts ground rent on new leaseholds to a nominal (“peppercorn”) amount. Started in the Lords.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

TUESDAY 25 JANUARY

Consumer Protection (Double Charging) Bill
Aims to protect customers from being charged twice for the same good or service. Ten minute rule motion presented by Huw Merriman.

Judicial Review and Courts Bill – report stage and 3rd reading
Applies to: England, Scotland (part), Wales, Northern Ireland (part)
Reforms judicial review (where judges decide whether an action taken by a public body was lawful) and other bits of the legal system. Among other things, it introduces an online-only conviction procedure for defendants pleading guilty so they don’t have to go through a court.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

WEDNESDAY 26 JANUARY

Spiking (Offence) Bill
Makes spiking a criminal offence (defined as administering or attempting to administer drugs or alcohol to a person without their consent). Ten minute rule motion presented by Richard Graham.

Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Introduces regulation to make smart devices (like smart TVs and speakers) more secure against cyber attacks. Aims to speed up the rollout of mobile, full-fibre and gigabit-capable networks across the UK.
Draft bill (PDF)

THURSDAY 27 JANUARY

No votes scheduled

FRIDAY 28 JANUARY

Cultural Objects (Protection from Seizure) Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Currently, foreign cultural objects on loan to UK museums are protected from seizure or forfeiture for 12 months. This bill would allow that to be extended by a further three months. It’s intended to alleviate concerns from museums and international lenders that cultural objects may be left unprotected if there are travel disruptions, e.g. those caused by the pandemic. Private members’ bill presented by Mel Stride.
Draft bill (PDF)

Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Bill – 2nd reading
Changes retained EU laws in relation to compulsory vehicle insurance. No more detail available at this time. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.

British Sign Language Bill – 2nd reading
Declares British Sign Language (BSL) an official language of the UK. Creates a British Sign Language Council to promote and advise on the use of BSL. Establishes principles for the use of BSL in public services, which public bodies must follow. Private members’ bill presented by Rosie Cooper.

Business of the House Commission Bill – 2nd reading
Creates a Business of the House Commission to regulate the timetabling of business in the House of Commons. This is currently done by the government, so the effect would be taking those decisions out of political hands. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.

Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Bill – 2nd reading
Changes retained EU laws in relation to compulsory vehicle insurance. No more detail available at this time. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.

Evictions (Universal Credit) Bill – 2nd reading
Requires the government to prevent the evictions of Universal Credit claimants who are behind on rent. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.

Abuse of Public-Facing Workers (Offences) Bill – 2nd reading
Creates a new criminal offence of verbally or physically abusing a frontline worker. Private members’ bill presented by Olivia Blake. More information here.

Electricity Grid (Review) Bill – 2nd reading
Requires the government and Ofgem to conduct a review of the electricity network grid. Issues to consider include abolishing price differences based on geography; the current charging system is built on the assumption that electricity is generated by oil, gas, coal and nuclear plants near big cities, which means offshore wind farms pay much more to connect to the grid. Private members’ bill presented by Alan Brown. More information here.

Climate Education Bill – 2nd reading
Requires climate change and sustainability issues to be included throughout the curriculum in primary and secondary schools, and on vocational training courses. Private members’ bill presented by Nadia Whittome.

Members of Parliament (Prohibition of Second Jobs) (Motion) Bill – 2nd reading

Flooding (Prevention and Insurance) Bill – 2nd reading
A wide-ranging bill tightening the law around flood prevention. Sets national minimum requirements for flood mitigation and protection measures in new-build properties. Requires local and national government to report on flood-prevention measures. Establishes a certification scheme for flood prevention and mitigation work to properties, and an accreditation scheme for installers. Private members’ bill presented by Emma Hardy.

Medical Cannabis (Access) Bill – 2nd reading
Aims to improve access to medical cannabis, much of which is still bought privately. Private members’ bill presented by Jeff Smith.

Climate Change Bill – 2nd reading
Requires the government to declare a climate emergency and bring forward its deadline for hitting net-zero carbon emissions, among other things. Private members’ bill presented by Colum Eastwood. More information here.

Public Advocate Bill – 2nd reading
Creates the role of public advocate to give advice to families of people killed in major incidents. Seeks to avoid a repeat of the lengthy process after the Hillsborough disaster. Private members’ bill presented by Maria Eagle. More information here.

Copyright (Rights and Remuneration of Musicians, Etc.) Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Aims to improve rights for musicians. Measures include splitting streaming revenues fairly between labels and artists (which is already the case for broadcast usage), as well as giving artists more information on the revenue generated by their work, and the ability to adjust existing contracts if the amount paid for work is found to be unfair. Private members’ bill presented by Kevin Brennan.
Draft bill (PDF)

Human Trafficking (Child Protection) Bill – 2nd reading
Creates safe houses for children who have been the victims of trafficking. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.

Homeless People (Current Accounts) Bill – 2nd reading
Requires banks to provide current accounts for homeless people seeking work. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.

Electoral Candidates (Age) Bill – 2nd reading
Changes the minimum age of candidates in parliamentary and local elections to age 18 on the day of the election. It’s currently age 18 at time of nomination. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.

Leader of the House of Commons (Election) Bill – 2nd reading
Requires MPs to elect the leader of the House of Commons. The prime minister may nominate someone who must be from the governing party. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.

Prime Minister (Temporary Replacement) Bill – 2nd reading
Sets out a succession plan if the prime minister is temporarily unable to carry out their duties, for example because of illness. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.

BBC Licence Fee (Abolition) Bill – 2nd reading
Abolishes the licence fee and makes the BBC a subscription service. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.

Electoral Commission (Abolition) Bill – 2nd reading
Abolishes the Electoral Commission. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.

General Election (Leaders’ Debates) Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Sets up a commission to make arrangements for debates between leaders of political parties during a General Election. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.
Draft bill (PDF)

Hospitals (Parking Charges and Business Rates) Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England and Wales
Bans NHS hospitals from charging patients and visitors for car parking. Makes NHS hospitals exempt from business rates. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.
Draft bill

Asylum Seekers (Return to Safe Countries) Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Requires asylum seekers who have arrived in the UK from a safe country to be returned immediately to that country. Private members’ bill presented by Peter Bone.
Draft bill (PDF)

Child Criminal Exploitation Bill – 2nd reading
Makes involvement in child criminal exploitation an aggravating factor in sentencing for drug supply, production, importation and money laundering offences, meaning a stricter sentence is likely. Also makes being a victim of child criminal exploitation a mitigating factor in sentencing for these offences. Private members’ bill presented by Lyn Brown.

Ministerial Interests (Emergency Powers) Bill – 2nd reading
Requires ministers to make an oral statement to Parliament if a contract is awarded under emergency statutory powers to a person or company in which they have a personal, political or financial interest. Private members’ bill presented by Owen Thompson.

Barnett Formula (Replacement) Bill – 2nd reading
Requires the chancellor the report to Parliament on proposals to replace the Barnett Formula (the calculation used to decide how much public money is given to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) with a scheme based on an assessment of relative needs. Private members’ bill presented by Christopher Chope.

Housing Standards (Refugee and Asylum Seekers) Bill – 2nd reading
Introduces national minimum standards in accommodation offered to refugees and asylum seekers. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.

Asylum Seekers (Permission to Work) No. 2 Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Grants asylum seekers permission to work if they have waited six months for a decision on their asylum application. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.
Draft bill (PDF)

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (Powers) Bill – 2nd reading
Allows the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to identify and investigate systemic problems in the benefits system and make relevant recommendations to the  government. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.

Under-Occupancy Penalty (Report) Bill – 2nd reading
Requires the government to report on the merits of repealing the so-called “bedroom tax” (a cut in benefits for those living in a council or housing association property deemed to have one or more spare bedrooms). Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.

Social Security Benefits (Healthy Eating) Bill – 2nd reading
Requires the government to publish annual calculations of the benefit and tax credit rates needed for a representative household to afford to buy meals in accordance with the Eatwell Guide to eating healthily. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.

Benefit Sanctions (Warnings) Bill – 2nd reading
Requires benefit claimants to be given warnings before they are sanctioned. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.

Universal Credit Sanctions (Zero Hours Contracts) Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland
Prevents a Universal Credit claimant from being sanctioned for refusing work on a zero-hours contract. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.
Draft bill

Asylum Seekers (Accommodation Eviction Procedures) Bill – 2nd reading
Allows asylum seekers to challenge a proposed eviction in an independent court or tribunal. Establishes asylum seeker accommodation eviction procedures for public authorities. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.

Disability Benefit Assessments (Recording) Bill – 2nd reading
Requires the government to allow Disability Benefit applicants to have their eligibility assessment recorded on audio. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.

Full Employment Bill – 2nd reading
Requires the chancellor to pursue a policy of full employment (one definition is when there are more vacancies than people seeking jobs). Creates an employment guarantee scheme for benefit claimants who have been unemployed and looking for work for longer than six months. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.

Health and Safety at Work Bill – 2nd reading
Amend the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 to make provision about civil liability for breaches of health and safety duties. More information not yet available. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.

Corporate Homicide Bill – 2nd reading
Makes changes to the criminal offence of corporate homicide. More information not yet published. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.

Workers (Rights and Definition) Bill – 2nd reading
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. Private members’ bill presented by Chris Stephens.

Want more?
Check your MP’s voting record and read the day’s debates at TheyWorkForYou.

LAST WEEK’S VOTES

Passed

• Elections Bill – goes to the Lords
• Digital Devices (Access for Next of Kin) Bill – goes to second reading
• Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill – goes to committee stage
• Prisons (Violence) Bill – goes to second reading
• Building Safety Bill – goes to the Lords
• Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill – goes to the Lords
• Approved Premises (Substance Testing) Bill – goes to the Lords

Withdrawn

• Hare Coursing Bill – government agreed to implement in other legislation

Postponed

• All other private members’ bills

Click here to read details of the bills in last week’s newsletter.