The Finance Bill is a government bill intended to give the tax measures announced in the spring budget 2020 lasting statutory effect.
Finance Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages (172KB PDF)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, presented the spring 2020 budget to the House of Commons on 11 March 2020. The Finance Bill is intended to give lasting statutory effect to the tax measures announced in that budget.
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.
Although the budget deals with public spending as well as taxation, the procedure by which Parliament scrutinises and approves government expenditure is separate to the Finance Bill.
Finance Bill: Briefing for Lords Stages (172KB 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 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)
The Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill is a money bill that would implement three tax measures as part of the government’s package of support to tackle increased energy prices. The bill would increase the electricity generator levy, increase the rate of tax-free mileage allowance for employees, and provide a 12-month vehicle excise duty exemption for HGVs.
