The Consumer Rights Bill makes provision for the reform of consumer law in the UK and connected areas of law. This Note summarises the Bill’s report stage and third reading in the House of Commons.
Consumer Rights Bill (HL Bill 29 of 2014–15) (286KB PDF)
The Consumer Rights Bill makes provision for the reform of consumer law in the UK. The aim of the Bill is to reduce complexity and ambiguity in UK law and bring consumer law up to date with modern digital means of transaction. The Bill would establish a series of basic rights for consumers to a minimum quality of goods and services, and seeks to establish which contract terms can and cannot be challenged in the courts on grounds of fairness. There are also provisions in the Bill intended to consolidate the powers of consumer law enforcers and to enable small companies and consumers to pursue, through the Competition Appeal Tribunal, private actions under contract law against companies. This Note summarises the Bill’s report stage and third reading in the House of Commons.
Consumer Rights Bill (HL Bill 29 of 2014–15) (286KB 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 Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL] is a wide-ranging bill that aims to reform the way the UK financial services sector is regulated. This briefing provides a summary of the bill’s second reading and committee stage in the House of Lords ahead of its further consideration at report.
![Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL]: Progress in the Lords](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Economy-568x426.png)