Contents
Chamber business
The House met at 9.30 am.
Prayers
1Questions to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade
2Speaker’s Statement: Policy announcements and the Ministerial Code
3Urgent Question: Government plans on costs to motorists (Lucy Rigby)
4Business Question (Leader of the House)
5Deputy Speaker’s Statement: Policy announcements and the Ministerial Code
6Statements: (1) Middle East: Economic response (Chancellor of the Exchequer)
(2) Middle East (Mr Hamish Falconer)
(3) Return to the humble Address: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (Chris Bryant)
7Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill: Second Reading
Motion made and Question proposed, That the Bill be now read a second time.
Amendment proposed, to leave out from 'That' to the end of the Question and add 'this House declines to give a Second Reading to the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill because it believes that politicians should not be running businesses; because expropriating businesses sets a precedent that will deter inward investment into other UK businesses; because the Bill exposes taxpayers to unlimited liabilities; because the powers that the Bill confers on Ministers are far wider in scope than would be required for its stated purpose; and because it fails to contain any measures that would address the issues which are currently making domestic production of steel unprofitable such as higher employment costs and policies in pursuit of net zero, such as carbon taxes and associated regulations and levies.'.—(Andrew Griffith.)
The Deputy Speaker announced a time limit on backbench speeches (Standing Order No. 47(1)).
Question put, That the Amendment be made.
The House divided.
Division No. 6
Ayes: 68 (Tellers: Lincoln Jopp, Alicia Kearns)
Noes: 242 (Tellers: Shaun Davies, Sir Nicholas Dakin)
Question negatived.
Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 62(2)), That the Bill be now read a second time.
Question agreed to and Bill read a second time.
8Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill: Programme
Motion made and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 83A(7)), That the following provisions shall apply to the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill:
Committal
(1) The Bill shall be committed to a Committee of the whole House.
Proceedings in Committee of the whole House, on Consideration and on Third Reading
(2) Proceedings in Committee of the whole House, any proceedings on Consideration and proceedings on Third Reading shall be completed in two days.
(3) Proceedings in Committee—
(a) shall be taken on each of those days in the order shown in the first column of the following Table, and
(b) shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at the times specified in the second column of the Table.
Table
|
Proceedings |
Time for conclusion of proceedings |
|
First day |
|
|
Clauses 1 to 51; new Clauses relating to Part 1; new Schedules relating to Part 1. |
The moment of interruption on the first day. |
|
Second day |
|
|
Clauses 52 to 57; new Clauses relating to Part 2; new Schedules relating to Part 2; Clauses 58 to 60; new Clauses relating to Part 3; new Schedules relating to Part 3; Clauses 61 to 64; new Clauses relating to Part 4; new Schedules relating to Part 4; remaining proceedings in Committee on the Bill. |
One hour before the moment of interruption on the second day. |
(4) Any proceedings on Consideration and proceedings on Third Reading shall be taken on the second day and shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion at the moment of interruption on that day.
Programming committee
(5) Standing Order No. 83B (Programming committees) shall not apply to proceedings in Committee of the whole House, to any proceedings on Consideration or to proceedings on Third Reading.
Other proceedings
(6) Any other proceedings on the Bill may be programmed.—(Gen Kitchen.)
Question agreed to.
9Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill: Money
King’s Recommendation signified.
Motion made and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 52(1)(a)), That, for the purposes of any Act resulting from the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill, it is expedient to authorise the payment out of money provided by Parliament of any expenditure incurred by the Secretary of State under or by virtue of the Act.—(Gen Kitchen.)
Question agreed to.
10Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill: Ways and Means
Motion made and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 52(1)(a)), That, for the purposes of any Act resulting from the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill, it is expedient to authorise the making of provision about the fiscal consequences of the exercise of a transfer power under Part 1 of the Act.—(Gen Kitchen).
Question agreed to.
11Statutory Instruments: Motions for approval
Motion made and Question put forthwith (Standing Order No. 118(6)), That the draft Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority Regulations 2026, which were laid before this House on 16 March, in the last Session of Parliament, be approved.—(Gen Kitchen.)
Question agreed to.
Subject: Imprisonment of Craig and Lindsay Foreman in Iran (Tony Vaughan)
Resolved, That this House do now adjourn.—(Gen Kitchen.)
Adjourned at 5.38 pm until Monday 1 June (Order, 3 March, in the last Session of Parliament).
Other Proceedings
General Committees: Appointments
The Speaker appoints the Chair of General Committees and members of Programming Sub-Committees, and allocates Statutory Instruments to Delegated Legislation Committees.
The Committee of Selection nominates Members to serve on General Committees (and certain Members to serve on Grand Committees).
13Second Delegated Legislation Committee (draft Energy Prices Act 2022 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026)
Members: Anna Gelderd discharged and Mr Connor Rand nominated in substitution.
14Fifth Delegated Legislation Committee (draft Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2026)
Members: Kirith Entwistle discharged and Alistair Strathern nominated in substitution.
Select Committees: Reports
Correspondence with the Minister for the Cabinet Office relating to the Government Response to the Committee’s Third Report of Session 2024–26, on the UK-EU reset: Written evidence, to be published (HC 108) (Emily Thornberry).
16Public Accounts (Committee of)
(1) Unlocking land for housing: Oral and written evidence, to be published (HC 87);
(2) Civil service pensions: Written evidence, to be published (HC 84);
(3) Correspondence relating to the Committee’s previous Reports: Written evidence, to be published;
(4) HS2 update: Written evidence, to be published (HC 103)
(Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown).
Sir Lindsay Hoyle
Speaker
Westminster Hall
The sitting began at 1.30 pm.
Business appointed by the Chairman of Ways and Means (Standing Order No. 10(6))
1Censorship of women’s health and wellbeing content online
Resolved, That this House has considered the matter of censorship of women’s health and wellbeing content online.—(Emily Darlington.)
The sitting was suspended between 2.42 pm and 3 pm.
2Domestic abuse and safeguarding within the family justice system
Resolved, That this House has considered domestic abuse and safeguarding within the family justice system.—(Clive Jones.)
Sitting adjourned without Question put (Standing Order No. 10(14)).
Adjourned at 4.20 pm until Monday 1 June (Order, 3 March, in the last Session of Parliament).
Ms Nusrat Ghani
Chairman of Ways and Means
Papers Laid
Papers subject to Affirmative Resolution
Draft Combined Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (Amendment) Order 2026 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Samantha Dixon)
Papers subject to Negative Resolution
Draft Code of Practice on Services, public functions and associations (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Secretary Bridget Phillipson)
3Financial Services and Markets
Securitisation (Overseas STS Equivalence) (European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) Regulations 2026 (SI, 2026, No. 550), dated 20 May 2026 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Rachel Blake)
National Health Service (Primary Dental Services and Dental Charges) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026 (SI, 2026, No. 554), dated 20 May 2026 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Stephen Kinnock)
(1) Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment) (Governance) Regulations 2026 (SI, 2026, No. 545), dated 19 May 2026 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Alison McGovern)
(2) Local Government Pension Scheme (Pooling, Management and Investment of Funds) Regulations 2026 (SI, 2026, No. 544), dated 19 May 2026 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Alison McGovern)
Other papers
Return to an Address to His Majesty for a Return, dated 24 February 2026, relating to the appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as Special Representative for Trade and Investment in 2001 (pursuant to Resolution), to be printed (HC 222) (Chris Bryant)
Forty-eighth Report of the Review Body on Senior Salaries: Report No. 100 (by Command) (CP 1570) (Darren Jones)
Report and Accounts of the Care Quality Commission for 2024–25, with the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (by Act), to be printed (HC 110) (Preet Kaur Gill)
Report of the Appointed Person for England and Wales for 2024–25 (by Act) (Secretary Shabana Mahmood)
(1) Parliamentary Works Grant: Main Supply Estimate for 2026–27 (by Act), to be printed (HC 204) (Chairman of Ways and Means)
(2) Parliamentary Works Grant: Main Supply Estimate for 2026–27: Comments from the Parliamentary Works Estimates Commission and the Treasury (by Act), to be printed (HC 181) (Chairman of Ways and Means)
Treasury Minutes on Government Responses to the Sixty-eighth to the Seventy-fifth Reports of the Committee of Public Accounts, Session 2024–26 (by Command) (CP 1587) (Dan Tomlinson)
Convention, done at London on 13 November 2024, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Romania for the Elimination of Double Taxation with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital Gains and the Prevention of Tax Evasion and Avoidance (by Command) (CP 1589) (Secretary Yvette Cooper)
Fit Note Reform: Call for Evidence: Results (by Command) (CP 1562) (Secretary Pat McFadden)
CORRECTION
Wednesday 20 May 2026
Item 30 should have appeared as follows:
Welsh Affairs Committee
Promoting Wales for inward investment:
(i) First Report, to be printed, with the formal minutes relating to the Report (HC 136);
(ii) Written evidence, to be published (HC 136)
(Ruth Jones).