The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill implements an announcement by the Chancellor in the 2012 Autumn Statement that increases in certain working-age welfare benefits and tax credits would be limited to 1 percent, rather than increasing them in line with inflation. This Library Note is intended to provide background information in advance of the Bill’s second reading in the House of Lords on 11 February 2013.
Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill (HL Bill 78 of 2012-13) (543KB PDF)
The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill implements an announcement by the Chancellor in the 2012 Autumn Statement that increases in certain working-age welfare benefits and tax credits would be limited to 1 percent, rather than increasing them in line with inflation. This Library Note is intended to provide background information in advance of the Bill’s second reading in the House of Lords on 11 February 2013. The Note examines the background context to the Bill, including the existing statutory framework for uprating social security benefits and tax credits. It describes the Bill’s provisions, and looks at which benefits are covered by the Bill, and which are not. It also presents analyses of the Bill’s likely impacts, and summarises proceedings on the Bill in the House of Commons.
Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill (HL Bill 78 of 2012-13) (543KB PDF)
The Sovereign Grant Bill is a government bill which would amend how the sovereign grant is set. This is a grant paid to the King to support the work of the sovereign. The bill would enable the size of the sovereign grant to be reduced following the completion of a 10-year works project on Buckingham Palace. The bill received cross-party support and was not amended in the House of Commons.
The Commercial Payments Bill [HL] seeks to tackle late payments to small businesses. It would impose minimum payment periods for invoices, prohibit the use of retentions in construction contracts and provide the small business commissioner with greater powers. The bill received an unopposed second reading in the House of Lords on 9 June 2026. 30 government amendments were made to the bill at committee stage.
![Commercial Payments Bill [HL]: Progress in the Lords](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/01/Business-VIGs-568x426.jpg)
The Leaseholder Remediation (Building Safety) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill that would prevent developers and building owners from recovering remediation costs for systemic defects from protected leaseholders in residential buildings containing any leasehold properties, with no minimum height or storey threshold. Systemic defects would include unsafe cladding and structural deficiencies. The House of Lords is scheduled to debate the bill at second reading on 11 September 2026.
![Leaseholder Remediation (Building Safety) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 18 of 2026–27](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Housing-568x426.png)