The week in Parliament - Labour International

17th October, 2026

Parliament Weekly — 17 October 2026

Parliament Weekly

Saturday 17 October 2026

Return week in review, and the week ahead

Top story

The Commons passed the Courts and Tribunals Bill by 301 votes to 193 on Tuesday, after ministers dropped their judge-only "Bench Division" plans. The Bill now goes to the Lords.

📰 The Week in Parliament

Parliament returned on Monday after the four-week conference recess, and the Commons wasted no time. Tuesday was dominated by the Courts and Tribunals Bill. Ministers tabled 23 amendments, dropping their proposed judge-only "Bench Division" provisions after scrutiny by the Justice Committee, but kept the measure ending a defendant's right to choose jury trial for either-way offences; an Opposition amendment to remove it was defeated. The Bill then passed Third Reading, 301 to 193, with two Labour MPs voting against and the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and most other parties opposed. It now goes to the Lords.

Wednesday brought the first Prime Minister's Questions since September. Kemi Badenoch pressed Andy Burnham on his remarks about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 referendum, on the Rosebank and Jackdaw North Sea projects, on welfare reform and on NATO defence spending, while the PM defended the government's record. On Monday Burnham had told MPs he would push for new post-Brexit deals with the EU at a summit next month, citing youth mobility, food and drink, and energy. The government comfortably defeated two Opposition Day motions, on inheritance tax and on an MoD site at Bicester and illegal migrants, and the Commons approved regulations and codes of practice implementing trade union workplace-access rights.

On Thursday MPs gave the Highways (Financing) Bill a Second Reading after rejecting an Opposition reasoned amendment by 231 to 76. The Bill would let private investment fund major roads; the Lower Thames Crossing is the only confirmed scheme so far, with the Office of Rail and Road to cap tolls. On Friday, Conservative Mike Wood's Heritage Public Houses Bill ran out of time without a vote after a closure motion was defeated; Wood and campaigners accused Labour MPs of talking it out.

In the Lords, peers began Committee Stage of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, the "Hillsborough Law", on Monday, and gave the Health Bill its Second Reading on Tuesday. According to Healthwatch, speakers across parties backed keeping an independent local patient voice rather than abolishing Healthwatch, and Committee Stage starts on 28 October. The Sovereign Grant Bill completed all its Lords stages on Wednesday and awaits Royal Assent. Next week the Commons has a compressed two-day passage of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, and the Budget follows on 28 October.

✅ Bills Passed or Advanced This Week

Sovereign Grant Bill — completed all Lords stages on Wed 14 October (it is a Money Bill); awaiting Royal Assent. Sets the grant at £99.9 million for 2027–28, down from £137.9 million.
Courts and Tribunals Bill — passed the Commons on Tue 13 October (301–193) and goes to the Lords. The Government's judge-only "Bench Division" proposals were dropped at Report Stage; the clause ending the right to elect jury trial for either-way offences stayed in.
Highways (Financing) Bill — read a second time on Thu 15 October after the reasoned amendment fell 231–76.
Health Bill — completed Lords Second Reading on Tue 13 October.
Northern Ireland Troubles Bill — Commons carry-over extension motion passed on Tue 13 October (majority of 125), extending the Bill until 29 April 2027.
Not passed: the Heritage Public Houses Bill (private member's bill) ran out of time on Friday without a Second Reading vote.

📋 Overview of Active Bills

Northern Ireland Troubles Bill — Commons Committee of the whole House Mon 19 October, with the rest of Committee, Report and Third Reading expected Tue 20 October.
Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill — all Commons stages Wed 21 October. Would end the bar on Catholic and Jewish prime ministers advising the Crown on Church of England and Church of Scotland appointments.
Railways Bill — Lords Grand Committee: day 5 on Mon 19 October, day 6 on Wed 21 October, day 7 (final) on Mon 26 October.
Public Office (Accountability) Bill — Lords Committee: day 1 held Mon 12 October; day 2 on 19 October and day 3 on 21 October.
Armed Forces Bill — Lords Report Stage Tue 20 October; Third Reading Tue 27 October.
Commercial Payments Bill [HL] — Lords Third Reading Tue 20 October, then on to the Commons.
Cyber Security and Resilience (NIS) Bill — Lords Report Stage Mon 26 October.
Courts and Tribunals Bill — in the Lords; Second Reading pencilled for Tue 27 October.
Health Bill — Lords Committee Stage (7 days scheduled) begins Wed 28 October.
Highways (Financing) Bill — Commons Committee Stage to follow Second Reading.
Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill — Commons Second Reading provisionally Tue 27 October.
Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL] — in the Commons, awaiting a Second Reading date.
Social Housing Bill [HL] — in the Commons after Second Reading; a Public Bill Committee call for evidence was issued on 16 September.

🎥 Committee Meetings This Week

Public Accounts Committee (Mon 12) — resilience of the UK's food supply to disruptions: retailers, manufacturers, a farmer and academics on whether the system could cope with severe shocks. Watch / details →
Foreign Affairs Committee (Tue 13) — joint public session with the German Bundestag's foreign affairs committee on UK–German cooperation and the Kensington Treaty. Watch →
Home Affairs Committee (Tue 13) — the impact of serious and organised crime on local neighbourhoods; and Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (Tue 13) — recommendations of the Infected Blood Inquiry (stage 1). Details →
Lords Communications and Digital Committee (Tue 13) — the Online Safety Act: implementation and impact. Watch / details →
Health and Social Care Committee (Wed 14, joint inquiry with the Education Committee) — children and young people's mental health, with Professors Peter Fonagy and Gillian Baird. Watch / details →
Lords Public Services Committee (Wed 14) — children's social care, with Department for Education officials. Watch / details →
Treasury Committee (Wed 14) — first oral evidence session of its Budget 2026 inquiry. Watch / details →
Women and Equalities Committee (Wed 14) — routes into sport for girls and women. Details →
Public Accounts Committee (Thu 15) — food supply resilience again, questioning Defra's Permanent Secretary, Paul Kissack, and Director General Emily Miles. Watch / details →

Recordings and transcripts are also available via parliamentlive.tv.

📅 Coming Week: 19–23 October

Commons

Mon 19: Northern Ireland Troubles Bill — Committee of the whole House, day one; adjournment debate on support for Glasgow School of Art's Mackintosh Building; Westminster Hall e-petition debate (4.30pm) on sentence reductions for guilty pleas in coercive control cases
Tue 20: Health and Social Care Questions; Ten Minute Rule Motion on the recognition of polygamous and close-relative marriages in the social security system (Richard Holden MP); Northern Ireland Troubles Bill — conclusion of Committee and remaining stages; Westminster Hall debate on manufacturing skills
Wed 21: Northern Ireland Questions (11.30am); PMQs at noon; Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill — allocation of time motion, then all stages; Opposition Day (4th allotted day), with a Liberal Democrat motion in the first half (subject to be announced)
Thu 22: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Questions, then Church Commissioners and Commons Commission questions; tributes to the Clerk of the House; general debate on Black History Month; Westminster Hall debates on Equitable Life compensation and the 90th anniversary of the Jarrow Crusade
Fri 23: the Commons is not sitting

Lords

Mon 19: questions on the economic contribution of settled migrants and Russian and Chinese influence in the Western Balkans; Public Office (Accountability) Bill and Railways Bill in Committee; Microplastic Filters Private Member's Bill in Committee; short debate on teaching citizenship
Tue 20: questions on ending corridor care and the decline of cash payments; Armed Forces Bill — Report; Commercial Payments Bill [HL] — Third Reading; debate on the UK–EU Agreement in respect of Gibraltar
Wed 21: questions on discussions with the USA on reducing international tension and on defence spending funded by borrowing; Public Office (Accountability) Bill and Railways Bill in Committee
Thu 22: debates on the effect of AI, screen usage and social media on children, and on proposals for a written constitution; further debates include the Lords' sitting times and the age of consent for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones
Fri 23 (10am): Second Readings of two private members' bills: the House of Lords (Alternative Second Chamber) Bill and the British Sovereignty Protection (Chagos Islands) Bill

Select Committee Hearings

Mon 19: Foreign Affairs Committee (1.30pm); Public Accounts Committee (3.30pm); National Security Strategy Joint Committee (4.30pm). Watch →
Tue 20: Defence Committee (10.30am) — implications of the Defence Investment Plan for UK industry, with ADS, techUK, the FSB and MakeUK; sessions also listed for the Justice, Education, Treasury, International Development, Home Affairs and Administration committees; Lords Economic Affairs Committee (3pm) on fiscal devolution in England; Lords Communications and Digital Committee takes evidence from the Competition and Markets Authority. Defence → · Lords →
Wed 21: Transport, Science and Technology, Scottish Affairs and Welsh Affairs committees; Lords Public Services Committee (11am) on children's social care, with Action for Children and the NSPCC. Details →
Thu 22: Public Accounts Committee (10am) — Clean Power by 2030: upgrading the grid. Details →

Further ahead

Mon 26 October: Commons debates on Royal Mail's performance and the emerging risks of advanced AI (provisional); Lords Report Stage of the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill
Tue 27 October: Commons Second Reading of the Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill (provisional); Lords Second Reading of the Courts and Tribunals Bill
Wed 28 October: Budget (John Healey's first as Chancellor), with the OBR forecast; Lords Committee Stage of the Health Bill begins
From 4 November: short November recess (Commons returns 10 November, Lords 9 November)

Business is subject to change; urgent questions and statements are announced on the day.

🗳️ Consultations Closing in the Next 4 Weeks

Standard planning agreements for medium sites — four standard section 106 templates. Closes 20 October. (MHCLG) Respond →
Leasehold enfranchisement valuation rates — rates to be set under the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. Closes 21 October. (MHCLG) Respond →
Land use statistics: methodology changes — a new methodology for the Land Use in England and Land Use Change statistical series. Closes 28 October. (MHCLG) Respond →
Teachers' Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2027 — proposed changes to the scheme regulations. Closes 30 October. (Department for Education) Respond →
Sentencing Council strategic objectives 2027–2030 — proposed objectives for the next three years. Closes 30 October. (Sentencing Council) Respond →

Newly opened

Extending Awaab's Law to private rented tenancies and licences — opened 9 October, closes 18 December. (MHCLG) Respond →
Plastic packaging tax: mass balance approach for chemically recycled plastic — technical consultation on draft regulations. Closes 21 December. (HMRC)

A selection drawn from the main departmental consultation hubs (MHCLG, DfE, MoJ, Defra); check GOV.UK's consultation finder for the complete list across all departments.

Compiled from UK Parliament business papers and news, the House of Lords Library, the Hansard Society's Parliament Matters bulletin, committees.parliament.uk, and GOV.UK consultation hubs. Sources: parliament.uk, lordslibrary.parliament.uk, hansardsociety.org.uk, committees.parliament.uk, whatson.parliament.uk, parliamentlive.tv, ayesandnoes.co.uk, consult.communities.gov.uk, consult.education.gov.uk, consult.justice.gov.uk.