The Northern Ireland Budget (No. 2) Bill is a government bill that would authorise government departments and certain other bodies in Northern Ireland to incur expenditure and use resources for the financial year ending 31 March 2024. The House of Commons has passed the bill and the Speaker has certified the bill as a money bill. In practice this limits the extent to which the House of Lords can propose significant changes.
The Finance (No. 2) Bill is a government bill intended to give statutory effect to the tax measures announced in the spring budget 2023, as well as other previously announced policies. These include the introduction of full expensing of capital expenditure on plant and machinery from 2023 to 2026, the abolition of the lifetime allowance of tax relievable pension savings and the freezing of fuel duty rates for 2023/24. The bill was introduced to the House of Lords on 21 June 2023 and its second reading and all remaining stages are due to take place on 4 July 2023.
The Non-Domestic Rating Bill is a government bill that would make changes to business rates. It would reduce the time between property revaluations, impose a duty on businesses to notify the Valuation Office Agency of changes that could affect a property’s rateable value, and introduce rates reliefs for improvements to property and heat networks. It was introduced in the House of Commons on 29 March 2023 and its second reading in the House of Lords is scheduled to take place on 19 June 2023.
Research Briefing
The Northern Ireland (Interim Arrangements) Bill is a government bill that was introduced in the House of Commons. The bill is being fast-tracked and completed all of its stages in the House of Commons on 10 May 2023 without amendment. It is scheduled to have its second reading on the 18 May 2023 with its remaining stages taking place on 23 May 2023.
Research Briefing
The Co-operatives, Mutuals and Friendly Societies Bill is a private member’s bill that would allow cooperatives, mutual insurers and friendly societies to choose to adopt legal restrictions on the use of their assets. Community benefit societies, a type of cooperative, already have the option to implement such statutory ‘asset locks’ to ensure a society’s assets cannot later be used for the private benefit of members. The House of Lords is scheduled to debate the bill on 24 March 2023.
Research Briefing
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill is a government bill which is intended to help tackle economic crime, better protect national security and enable Companies House to deliver a better service for UK individuals and businesses.
Research Briefing
The OFCOM (Duty regarding Prevention of Serious Self-harm and Suicide) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill that has been introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (Crossbench). Amongst its provisions, the bill would require Ofcom to establish a unit to advise the government on the extent of content on social media platforms which could be seen to encourage self-harm or suicide.
Research Briefing
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is due to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 6 February 2023. The bill would automatically revoke, or ‘sunset’, most retained EU law at the end of 2023. However it would also give ministers powers to exempt some retained EU law from the sunset and to restate, reproduce, replace or update retained EU law by statutory instrument.
Research Briefing
In the absence of functioning devolved institutions the UK government has intervened to set Northern Ireland’s budget. The Northern Ireland Budget Bill provides the relevant authorisations and appropriations for the full 2022/23 financial year and includes provisions to allow public spending to continue into the early months of the 2023/24 financial year. The bill passed has been fast-tracked through the House of Commons and its second reading in the House of Lords is due to take place on 7 February 2022.
Research Briefing
The Online Safety Bill is a government bill that would establish a regulatory framework for certain online service providers. It would also create several new offences relating to online harms including offences of false communications, threatening communications, sending or showing flashing images electronically (‘epilepsy trolling’) and sending photographs or films of genitals (‘cyberflashing’). The government has said it will bring forward several amendments to the bill in the House of Lords including new offences relating to intimate images and promoting self-harm, criminal sanctions for senior managers of non-compliant providers, and promotion of small boat crossings.
Research Briefing
The Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Bill is a short private member's bill which would change the inflationary measure used during annual pitch fee reviews for mobile homes from the retail prices index (RPI) to the consumer prices index (CPI). CPI is generally lower than RPI, which proponents of the bill say will provide a cost saving to mobile home owners. The bill is sponsored by Lord Udny-Lister (Conservative). It completed its passage in the House of Commons with no amendment or debate. The bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 21 November 2022 and is scheduled to have its second reading on 3 February 2022. Housing policy is a devolved matter. The bill extends to England and Wales but would only apply to England. It would come into force two months after royal assent.
Research Briefing
The Stamp Duty Land Tax (Temporary Relief) Bill would give statutory effect to the reduction in certain stamp duty rates brought in by Liz Truss’s government and which are already in effect. The reductions would apply until 31 March 2025.
In Focus
Improvements in life expectancy have slowed in the UK since the early 2010s. A recent study argued there have been over 300,000 excess deaths during this period, when comparing trends in life expectancy with those from before 2011. The authors of the study argue this is a result of austerity policies pursued by the government. The subject is due to be debated in the House of Lords on 12 January 2023.
Research Briefing
The Financial Services and Markets Bill is a government bill that would make wide-ranging changes to the regulation of financial services in the UK. It would implement the outcomes of the Future Regulatory Framework review by repealing retained EU law relating to financial services. It would transfer responsibility for these areas of regulation to the financial services regulators. Among other things, the bill contains provisions to enable the establishment of a regime to regulate stablecoins, a type of cryptoasset, and to protect access to cash.
In Focus
The government announced in November 2022 that it would undertake a new efficiency and savings review, with savings reinvested in priority areas. This follows an earlier review, completed in 2021, from which the government said it had saved 5% against day-to-day central departmental budgets in 2024/25. Some parliamentarians have previously cautioned that efficiency savings should be balanced against potential side effects. The government aims to report on the latest review's progress in spring 2023.
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