Clear the Lobby: What Laws are MPs voting on this week? W/C 25th April 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,

More big bills to get across the line this week.

MPs need to accept or reject Lords amendments to various bits of legislation.

On the Elections Bill, for example, peers want to expand the list of documents voters can use to confirm their identity at polling stations, to include non-photographic documents like birth or marriage certificates and financial documents.

Parliament could be suspended any time from Thursday.

The State Opening of Parliament is scheduled for 10 May.

There’ll be pomp, circumstance and a Queen’s Speech where we find out all the bills the government wants to pass in the next year or so.

At this point all bills that haven’t been passed will fail, unless…

Monday brings carry-over motions for a few bills.

This is a way of rescuing bills and bringing them into the new session.

The government is planning to carry over bills to place new obligations on universities and colleges to defend free speech, ban the export of various live animals for slaughter, and authorise the next stage of the HS2 high-speed rail network.

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

Sebastian (@sebastiansalek)

MONDAY 25 APRIL

Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill – consideration of Lords amendments
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland (part), Northern Ireland (part)
A wide-ranging bill that reforms the criminal justice system. Among other things it lets the police issue noise limits for some protests, allows Crown Courts try people for criminal damage of memorials where the value of the damage is less than £5,000, and increases the maximum sentence for assaulting an emergency worker from one year to two.
Draft bill / Commons Library briefing

Health and Care Bill – consideration of Lords amendments
Applies to: England, Scotland (part), Wales, Northern Ireland (part)
Aims to integrate the health system (run by the NHS) and the care system (run by local authorities) by giving both bodies a duty to collaborate with each other. This replaces the 2012 reforms which put a big focus on competition and markets. Gives the health secretary more powers over the NHS, such as intervening in hospital closures and creating new trusts.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

TUESDAY 26 APRIL

Whistleblowing Bill
Establishes an independent Office of the Whistleblower to protect whistleblowers. It would direct whistleblower investigations, and set and monitor standards for the management of those cases, among other things. Ten minute rule motion presented by Mary Robinson.

Judicial Review and Courts Bill – consideration of Lords amendments
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 27 APRIL

Import of Products of Forced Labour From Xinjiang (Prohibition) Bill
Bans the import of products made by forced labour in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Requires all companies importing products from Xinjiang to prove that they weren’t manufactured by forced labour. Ten minute rule motion presented by Brendan O’Hara.

Elections Bill – consideration of Lords amendments
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Introduces new measures aimed at strengthening the integrity of the electoral process, including requiring voters to show ID in General Elections. Scraps the 15-year limit on voting for UK citizens living overseas. Lays out new rules for EU citizens standing and voting in UK elections. Requires digital campaign materials to show details of the promoter of the materials (as is the case for printed materials).
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

THURSDAY 28 APRIL

No votes scheduled

FRIDAY 29 APRIL

No votes scheduled

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

LAST WEEK’S VOTES

Passed

• Sewage Discharges Bill – goes to second reading
• Online Safety Bill – goes to committee stage
• Hereditary Titles (Female Succession) Bill – goes to second reading
• Subsidy Control Bill – awaiting Royal Assent
• Building Safety Bill – goes back to Lords
• Nationality and Borders Bill – goes back to Lords
• Judicial Review and Courts Bill – goes back to Lords

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