Business of the House

Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?

The business for the week commencing 23 February will include:

Monday 23 February—Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Bill, followed by Committee of the whole House and remaining stages of the Universal Credit (Removal Of Two Child Limit) Bill.

Tuesday 24 February—Opposition day (18th allotted day). Debate on a motion in the name of the Liberal Democrats, subject to be announced, followed by debate on a motion relating to the charter for Budget responsibility.

Wednesday 25 February—General debate on Ukraine.

Thursday 26 February—General debate on St David’s day and Welsh affairs, followed by general debate on Government support for bereaved children. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 27 February—The House will not be sitting.

The provisional business for the week commencing 2 March includes:

Monday 2 March—Second Reading of the Representation of the People Bill.

Tuesday 3 March—My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will make her spring forecast statement, followed by consideration of Lords amendments.

Wednesday 4 March—Estimates day (4th allotted day). At 7pm, the House will be asked to agree all outstanding estimates.

Thursday 5 March—Proceedings on the Supply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) Bill, followed by general debate on contributions of Commonwealth troops in world war one, followed by debate on a motion on the future of palliative care. The subjects for these debates were determined by the Backbench Business Committee.

Friday 6 March—The House will not be sitting.

The House will no doubt be interested in recess dates going forward. Members may wish to know that subject to the progress of business, and further to the dates that have already been announced, the House will rise for the summer recess at the close of business on Thursday 16 July 2026 and return on Tuesday 1 September 2026. The House will rise for the conference recess at the close of business on Tuesday 15 September 2026 and return on Monday 12 October 2026. The House will rise for the Christmas recess at the close of business on Thursday 17 December 2026 and return on Monday 4 January 2027.

Tuesday 1 September clashes with my birthday, but we can discuss that later. I call the shadow Leader of the House.

On behalf of all Members, I thank the Leader of the House for giving us those recess dates, which will be widely welcomed.

Today is the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, perhaps the greatest of all United States Presidents, so perhaps this is a fitting moment to talk a little bit about public service. I congratulate the Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rev. Mark Birch, on his new job at Westminster Abbey, and I welcome his successor, the Venerable Andrew Hillier. We thank them for their service.

I note that the International Olympic Committee has banned a Ukrainian athlete from wearing a helmet of remembrance for his fellow athletes who have been killed by Russia—talk about public service.

Otherwise, the news has once again been filled by a succession of the most appalling misjudgments by the Prime Minister. These include decisions by him to ignore both public evidence and private advice, and to appoint to the House of Lords not one but two men with continuing connections to convicted paedophiles. It has been confirmed today that the Prime Minister was aware that his nominee, Matthew Boyle, had campaigned for a man charged with distributing indecent images of children two months before the Prime Minister appointed him.

The fallout from the Mandelson scandal has so far included the departures of the Prime Minister’s chief of staff and his head of communications, one after 18 months and the other after just a few weeks in post. We now have the leaked news that the Prime Minister’s personal choice of Cabinet Secretary is being forced to step down after barely a year in post. As they say at the BBC, deputy heads must roll.

Of course, no Government are free from scandal—goodness knows, I can say that from personal experience—and certainly not the previous ones, as the House will know well, but let there be no deflection or fudge on this matter. There has been nothing to compare with this catalogue of personal misjudgments by a Prime Minister for perhaps 60 years. Every sitting day, the chaplain leads the House in prayer for public service, that we as a House may

First, I am sure that the thoughts of the whole House are with the two children stabbed in the horrific attack at Kingsbury high school in Brent. My heart—and I am sure the hearts of the whole House —goes out to those affected by this tragedy. I also send my condolences to those affected by the horrific attack in Tumbler Ridge in Canada. Again, the thoughts of the whole House will be with the people there as they mourn their family, friends and loved ones. We wish all those injured a speedy recovery.

I join the shadow Leader of the House in welcoming the Venerable Andrew Hillier, who has been appointed as the new Speaker’s chaplain. I, too, thank the outgoing chaplain, the Rev. Mark Birch, for the support that he provided to everyone across the community, whether they were people of faith or not.

I also want to mark National Apprenticeship Week. Apprenticeships give young people real experience, real prospects and a real route into good careers. The Government are committed to delivering 50,000 more apprenticeships for young people, backed by the growth and skills levy.

As it is National Apprenticeship Week, it is appropriate to draw Members’ attention to the ambitions set out in the report on “Delivering restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster”, which was published last week, to support 1,000 apprenticeships and traineeships in addition to the thousands of full-time roles required to deliver the works. If they have not already done so, I encourage Members, whatever their view on the way forward for Parliament, to attend briefings by the R&R client team and to read the report in full.

Finally, before I turn to the remarks of the shadow Leader of the House, I wish all Members and you, Madam Deputy Speaker, an enjoyable recess. I hope that Members get some time to spend with their family and their constituents. They should also remember that it is pancake day, and I wish them well in that regard.

This week is Heart Unions Week, hence the badge on my lapel instead of the Wolves badge that I normally wear. Last Saturday, I was with the Wolverhampton, Bilston and District Trades Union Council handing out information about joining a trade union to passers-by in Wolverhampton city centre. Will the Leader of the House please join me in celebrating the vital work that our unions do in improving the lives of working people across the country, and the work that they did with the Government for us to deliver the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation through the landmark Employment Rights Act 2025? Does he agree that one of the best decisions our constituents can make is to join a trade union, for dignity and security in the workplace?

I certainly join my hon. Friend in recognising the vital role that trade unions play in improving lives of people across the country. The Government have worked very closely with trade unions and with businesses to deliver the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation through the landmark Employment Rights Act. The Act is a key pillar of the Government’s plan to make work pay, which will grow the economy, boost wages and reduce insecure work, and improve people’s lives.

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Over the last few weeks, there has been a national debate raging that, so far, this place has been pretty silent on. It is on the matter of student loans. I know what some on the Government Benches may be thinking, but I am not prepared to duck difficult subjects.

Let us face it: the student loans system has changed beyond recognition since its introduction, and that is one of the key complaints of graduates. Maintenance grants have been scrapped in favour of loans, which means that the poorest students now arrive at university with the largest debt. Interest rates, tied to inflation, have soared in recent years; following the period of high inflation, people have been saddled permanently with much larger debts than they expected. Thresholds have been repeatedly frozen, including by this Labour Government at the last Budget, which the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates will add around £3,000 on average to people’s debt pile.

All that means that the agreement that students struck has been repeatedly, and unilaterally, changed by the lender after the agreement. I do not believe that would be tolerable in any other walk of life. When the Chancellor was challenged on this last week, she said that the system is “fair and reasonable”. I do not agree, and I think many graduates do not agree, so will the Leader of the House organise a debate in Government time on the changes that have been made to the student loans repayment system?

The UK is home to some of the world’s most respected universities, and we all benefit from the opportunities, knowledge and growth that they create. It is important that we pay attention to access to universities to ensure that people who want to go can go, but it is also important that we put the sector on a secure financial footing. That is why the Government are making tough but fair decisions to find the balance between value for money for taxpayers and students and graduates. We know that the cost of living is important for everyone. We are seeking to support graduates by protecting lower earners by lifting the threshold this year, but we appreciate the concern, not least because it is probably being expressed through our inboxes as I speak. I encourage the hon. Gentleman to attend the Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday 25 February, in which he may want to make his points more fully.

I am increasingly concerned about the quality of social care provision in Norfolk. We have had three care homes by three different providers in the last month alone all rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission. Having read the inspection reports, I know that they contain some harrowing details. Can we have a debate in Government time on the quality of social care provision?

I thank my hon. Friend for raising an issue of such importance, and I am genuinely sorry to hear about the cases that he raises. We are committed to building a national care service based on a high quality of care and greater choice and control. I will ensure that Ministers have heard his concern. If he wants to seek a meeting with Ministers to brief them more fully on what is happening in his part of the world, I will arrange that meeting.

I call the Chair of the Backbench Business Committee.

I thank the Leader of the House for mentioning the stabbing at Kingsbury high school. The good news is that the two children who were stabbed are in a stable condition, and the suspect has now been charged with multiple charges, including attempted murder. The police investigation is clearly ongoing, and we cannot comment on it any further.

I thank the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine) for stepping into the breach at very short notice when the previous debate that the Backbench Business Committee had allocated for Thursday 26 February was withdrawn.

As the Leader of the House has mentioned, estimates day debates are coming up on 4 March. We are open for business for applications by a week tomorrow; we will then decide which debates will be allocated time.

When we return, the business in Westminster Hall will be as follows. On 24 February, there will be a debate on Government support for healthcare systems in Gaza. On Thursday 26 February, there will be a debate on Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2026, followed by a debate on the impact of VAT on independent faith schools. On 3 March, there will be a debate on strengthening community cohesion. On 5 March, there will be a debate on the importance of local museums, followed by a debate on World Book Day.

When we return on 23 February, it will be the third anniversary of the hunger strike by Vahid Beheshti outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. He has had terrible privations as a result of this hunger strike, and no Foreign Office Minister in either the previous Government or the current Government has even had the courtesy to visit him. Given the circumstances in Iran, with more than 30,000 civilians being murdered by the tyrannical regime, Vahid has been calling for the proscription of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for the last three years. Can the Leader of the House arrange for a Minister to at least meet Vahid so that he can convey his reasons for carrying out this hunger strike?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, as ever, for his update and for the excellent work of the Backbench Business Committee. It is good news that the young people affected in his constituency are on the road to recovery. Of course, it is right that the police get on with their investigation. I hope that the law takes its course and that people are held to account.

With regard to the hon. Gentleman’s constituent, I am aware that it is the third anniversary. He knows that we have already sanctioned over 550 organisations and individuals, including designations against the IRGC. The Foreign Secretary has said that there will be full and further sanctions, where required. We keep this matter under review. I also take into account what he has said about his constituent. All I can say is that I will draw that to the attention of Ministers. I hope they will have heard what he has said; it is a decision for them.

The disgraceful scandals of recent days have left what little remains of faith in our democracy hanging by a thread. One of the lessons has to be that, while inherited privilege is no basis for a second Chamber, neither is self-interested patronage by political leaders. Does the Leader of the House agree that we must end the rotten system of peerages being granted to individuals, despite sickening behaviour, simply because they are rich and powerful, or to give jobs to the boys? Will he convey to his Cabinet colleagues the urgent need for legislation to reform the House of Lords from top to bottom, sweeping away these abuses and ridding us of all these politically partisan appointees?

My hon. Friend will be aware that the Government have already taken action on some aspects of reform of the Lords. He is not really talking about the Lords and their work per se; it is about the people who enter that place. The Prime Minister has confirmed that we will bring forward legislation to ensure that peerages, for example, can be removed from disgraced peers. We are looking at what other further action can be taken to improve standards in public life.

The Government are committed to wider reform of the House of Lords, but as I have said before, when we have tried this previously, there has been no consensus. There are many other priorities that the Government need to get on with. While not forgetting about Lords reform, we have to ensure that the Government do all the other things that they need to do, not least in the next Session facing us.