This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the second reading of the Anonymity (Arrested Persons) Bill [HL] in the House of Lords on 1 March 2019.
Anonymity (Arrested Persons) Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (259KB PDF)
The Anonymity (Arrested Persons) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Paddick (Liberal Democrat). The bill received its first reading in the House of Lords on 4 July 2017 and is due to receive its second reading on 1 March 2019. The Bill proposes to prohibit the publication of information about those who have been arrested—including their name, address and image—until they have been charged. The bill also outlines circumstances where these restrictions would not apply. Setting out the purpose of the bill, Lord Paddick explained:
There have recently been a series of cases where historic sexual offence allegations have received extensive coverage in the media but have not led to any criminal charges, ruining reputations. While these have involved high-profile individuals, other cases have ruined the reputations of ordinary people locally when criminal allegations have been made public, even when the Crown Prosecution Service takes no further action. The bill would make it unlawful for the identity of a person arrested to be published unless or until either they are charged with, or summonsed for, an offence, or a judge agrees that it is in the interests of justice, the public interest or human rights, to do so. It would apply to all criminal offences and not just those of a sexual nature.
Anonymity (Arrested Persons) Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (259KB PDF)
The House of Lords (Alternative Second Chamber Bill) [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru). It would require the secretary of state to carry out a consultation regarding proposals for replacing the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber. The bill specifies whom the secretary of state would be required to consult with and the timeframe of that consultation.
![House of Lords (Alternative Second Chamber) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 11 of 2026–27](https://lordslibrary-parliament.studio24.dev/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/House-of-Lords-568x426.png)
The Health Bill is intended to make changes to the NHS in England, including abolishing NHS England. It would also abolish Healthwatch and move the Heath Services Safety Inspectorate Board into the CQC. The bill would establish a single patient record, making patient data available across healthcare settings and directly to patients. In the House of Commons, amendments were made on visiting patients, medicines and medical devices regulation, and pharmaceutical services.
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.
