This House of Lords Library briefing provides summary information on the Finance (No. 3) Bill in advance of its second reading and remaining stages, due to take place in the House of Lords on 7 February 2019. It also identifies relevant reports and useful documents, including parliamentary materials and press articles, which may be of assistance to Members in preparing for that debate.
Finance (No. 3) Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages (275KB PDF)
The Finance (No. 3) Bill is a government bill intended to give lasting statutory effect to the tax measures announced in the 2018 budget. It completed its stages in the House of Commons on 8 January 2019. The Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 9 January 2019 and is due to have its second reading on 7 February 2019.
The bill falls within the category known formally as “bills of aids and supplies”, in which “aids” refers to taxation and “supplies” refers to government expenditure. The House of Commons has a special role in such bills, known as “financial privilege”. This means, in practice, that only the Commons can initiate such bills and Lords consideration is limited. In particular, the House of Lords may not amend such bills. While the Lords will have a debate at second reading, later stages will go through formally, without debate.
A number of amendments were made to the bill in the House of Commons. One of those agreed was intended to demonstrate the House’s opposition to a no-deal Brexit. The House of Lords Economic Affairs Finance Bill Sub-Committee has also considered two of the areas covered in this bill and in the previous Finance (No. 2) Act: namely, the Government’s proposals for Making Tax Digital and the development of HM Revenue and Customs’ powers to collect tax. It made a number of criticisms and recommendations in each area.
Finance (No. 3) Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages (275KB 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)