Clear the Lobby: What Laws are MPs voting on this week? W/C 5th August 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,

I hope you’ve had a lovely summer.

We’re less than 24 hours away from getting a new prime minister.

When I last wrote, the Tory leadership race was just getting started. This week will be all about seeing who Boris Johnson’s successor appoints to their cabinet, and what their immediate action on the cost of living crisis looks like.

The government bills keep coming, though.

Data and financial services are the two big areas seeing a post-Brexit regulatory shake-up. In practice, this means fewer online cookie alerts and more control for the Treasury over how the City conducts itself.

And Friday brings private members’ bills.

We start with Dan Jarvis’s bid to extend protection from redundancy for mothers who have recently returned to the workplace. There’ll probably be time to hear one or two more bills before the end of the day.

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

Sebastian (@sebastiansalek)

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MONDAY 5 SEPTEMBER

Data Protection and Digital Information Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Aims to update and simplify the UK’s data protection framework. Creates a system for digital identities to be used with the same confidence as paper documents, increases fines for nuisance calls, and changes to rules to cut down on online cookie alerts, among other things.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

TUESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER

Criminal Appeal (Amendment) Bill
Allows people to appeal their conviction if there has been a subsequent material change in the law. Currently, you either have to appeal within 28 days of the conviction or show that there’s been a “substantial injustice”. Ten minute rule motion presented by Barry Sheerman. More information here.

Trade (Australia and New Zealand) Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Writes the post-Brexit trade deals with Australia and New Zealand into law.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

WEDNESDAY 7 SEPTEMBER

Lithium-Ion Battery Storage (Fire Safety and Environmental Permits) Bill
Requires planning authorities to consult local fire services before allowing industrial lithium-ion battery storage facilities to be built, among other things. Follows a series of fires in these factories around the world. Ten minute rule motion presented by Maria Miller. More information here.

Financial Services and Markets Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to:
Revokes EU financial services regulation and allows the government and regulators to replace it with their own rules. Updates the objectives of financial services regulators to require them to focus on long-term growth and international competitiveness. Regulates some cryptocurrencies (chiefly stablecoins), paving their way for use as a recognised form of payment.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

THURSDAY 8 SEPTEMBER

Social Security (Special Rules for End of Life) Bill – all stages
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland
Fast tracks disability benefits for people who are terminally ill and not expected to live beyond six months. Started in the Lords.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

FRIDAY 9 SEPTEMBER

Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland
Prevents employers from making someone redundant during pregnancy or six months after returning to work. Currently the law only extends to the time someone is on parental leave. Private members’ bill presented by Dan Jarvis.

Carer’s Leave Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Gives employees with caring responsibilities a right to unpaid leave. Private members’ bill presented by Wendy Chamberlain.
Draft bill (PDF)

Worker Protection (Amendment of the Equality Act 2010) Bill – 2nd reading
Makes employers responsible for protecting their employees from workplace harassment. Private members’ bill presented by Wera Hobhouse.

Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Requires the installation of automated external defibrillators in public buildings, sports facilities, schools, higher education establishments, and facilities that provide care to vulnerable people. Private members’ bill presented by Jim Shannon.
Draft bill (PDF)

Domestic Energy (Value Added Tax) Bill – 2nd reading
Removes VAT on domestic electricity, oil, and gas. Private members’ bill presented by Christopher Chope.

BBC Licence Fee Non-Payment (Decriminalisation for Over-75s) Bill – 2nd reading
Decriminalises non-payment of the licence fee by over-75s. Private members’ bill presented by Christopher Chope.

Green Belt (Protection) Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England and Wales
Establishes a national register of green belt land in England. Restricts the ability of local authorities to de-designate green belt land. Private members’ bill presented by Christopher Chope.
Draft bill

House of Lords (Elected Senate) Bill – 2nd reading
Replaces the House of Lords with an elected senate. Private members’ bill presented by Paul Maynard.

Parliamentary Elections (Optional Preferential Vote) Bill – 2nd reading
Introduces the optional preferential voting system for parliamentary elections. Private members’ bill presented by Paul Maynard.

Public Advocate (No. 2) 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.

Ministerial Competence (External Review) Bill – 2nd reading
Introduces an annual appraisal of the performance of individual ministers, to inform the prime minister when making ministerial appointments. Private members’ bill presented by Paul Maynard.

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

LAST WEEK’S VOTES

Passed

• Supply of Drugs to Children Under 16 (Aggravated Offence) Bill – goes to second reading
• Northern Ireland Protocol Bill – goes to Lords
• Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Bill – goes to second reading

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