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Votes and Proceedings
Thursday 24 March 2022

Read the agenda for business in the House of Commons chamber, Westminster Hall and Commons Committees.

Find out more about the Votes and Proceedings

Contents

Chamber business

The House met at 9.30 am.

Prayers

1Questions to (1) the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

(2) the Attorney General

2Business Question (Leader of the House)

3Royal Assent

The Speaker reported that the Queen had signified Royal Assent to the following Acts under the Royal Assent Act 1967:

Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022

Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022

Highgate Cemetery Act 2022

4National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Bill: Presentation (Standing Order No. 57)

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, supported by the Prime Minister, Mr Simon Clarke, Lucy Frazer, John Glen, and Helen Whately, presented a Bill to make provision for and in connection with increasing the thresholds at which primary Class 1 contributions, Class 2 contributions and Class 4 contributions become payable.

Bill read the first time; to be read a second time today, and to be printed (Bill 292) with Explanatory Notes (Bill 292–EN).

5National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Bill: Business of the House

Ordered, That the following provisions shall apply to the proceedings on the National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Bill:

Timetable

(1)   (a) Proceedings on Second Reading and in Committee of the whole House, any proceedings on Consideration and proceedings on Third Reading shall be taken at today’s sitting in accordance with this Order.

        (b) Notices of Amendments, new Clauses or new Schedules to be moved in Committee of the whole House may be accepted by the Clerks at the Table before the Bill has been read a second time.

        (c) Proceedings on Second Reading shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion three hours after the commencement of proceedings on the Motion for this Order.

        (d) Proceedings in Committee of the whole House, any proceedings on Consideration and proceedings on Third Reading shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion five hours after the commencement of proceedings on the Motion for this Order.

Timing of proceedings and Questions to be put

(2)   As soon as the proceedings on the Motion for this Order have been concluded,

        the Order for the Second Reading of the Bill shall be read.

(3)   When the Bill has been read a second time:

        (a) it shall, despite Standing Order No. 63 (Committal of bills not subject to a programme order), stand committed to a Committee of the whole House without any Question being put;

        (b) proceedings on the Bill shall stand postponed while the Question is put, in accordance with Standing Order No. 52(1) (Money resolutions and ways and means resolutions in connection with bills), on any financial resolution relating to the Bill;

        (c) on the conclusion of proceedings on any financial resolution relating to the Bill, proceedings on the Bill shall be resumed and the Speaker shall leave the chair whether or not notice of an Instruction has been given.

(4)   (a) On the conclusion of proceedings in Committee of the whole House, the Chair shall report the Bill to the House without putting any Question.

        (b) If the Bill is reported with amendments, the House shall proceed to consider the Bill as amended without any Question being put.

(5)   For the purpose of bringing any proceedings to a conclusion in accordance with paragraph (1), the Chair or Speaker shall forthwith put the following Questions in the same order as they would fall to be put if this Order did not apply:

(a)    any Question already proposed from the chair;

(b)    any Question necessary to bring to a decision a Question so proposed;

(c)    the Question on any amendment, new Clause or new Schedule selected by the Chair or Speaker for separate decision;

(d)    the Question on any amendment moved or Motion made by a Minister of the Crown;

(e)    any other Question necessary for the disposal of the business to be concluded;

and shall not put any other questions, other than the question on any motion described in paragraph (16)(a) of this Order.

(6)   On a Motion so made for a new Clause or a new Schedule, the Chair or Speaker shall put only the Question that the Clause or Schedule be added to the Bill.

(7)   If two or more Questions would fall to be put under paragraph (5)(d) on successive amendments moved or Motions made by a Minister of the Crown, the Chair or Speaker shall instead put a single Question in relation to those amendments or Motions.

(8)   If two or more Questions would fall to be put under paragraph (5)(e) in relation to successive provisions of the Bill, the Chair shall instead put a single Question in relation to those provisions, except that the Question shall be put separately on any Clause of or Schedule to the Bill which a Minister of the Crown has signified an intention to leave out.

Consideration of Lords Amendments

(9)   (a) Any Lords Amendments to the Bill may be considered forthwith without any Question being put; and any proceedings interrupted for that purpose shall be suspended accordingly.

        (b) Proceedings on consideration of Lords Amendments shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion one hour after their commencement; and any proceedings suspended under sub-paragraph (a) shall thereupon be resumed.

(10) Paragraphs (2) to (7) of Standing Order No. 83F (Programme orders: conclusion of proceedings on consideration of Lords amendments) apply for the purposes of bringing any proceedings to a conclusion in accordance with paragraph (9) of this Order.

Subsequent stages

(11) (a) Any further Message from the Lords on the Bill may be considered forthwith without any Question being put; and any proceedings interrupted for that purpose shall be suspended accordingly.

        (b) Proceedings on any further Message from the Lords shall (so far as not previously concluded) be brought to a conclusion one hour after their commencement; and any proceedings suspended under sub-paragraph (a) shall thereupon be resumed.

 (12) Paragraphs (2) to (5) of Standing Order No. 83G (Programme orders: conclusion of proceedings on further messages from the Lords) apply for the purposes of bringing any proceedings to a conclusion in accordance with paragraph (11) of this Order.

Reasons Committee

(13) Paragraphs (2) to (6) of Standing Order No. 83H (Programme orders: reasons committee) apply in relation to any committee to be appointed to draw up reasons after proceedings have been brought to a conclusion in accordance with this Order.

Miscellaneous

(14) Standing Order No. 15(1) (Exempted business) shall apply to proceedings on the Bill.

(15) Standing Order No. 82 (Business Committee) shall not apply in relation to any proceedings to which this Order applies.

(16) (a) No Motion shall be made, except by a Minister of the Crown, to alter the order in which any proceedings on the Bill are taken, to recommit the Bill or to vary or supplement the provisions of this Order.

        (b) No notice shall be required of such a Motion.

        (c) Such a Motion may be considered forthwith without any Question being put; and any proceedings interrupted for that purpose shall be suspended accordingly.

        (d) The Question on such a Motion shall be put forthwith; and any proceedings suspended under sub-paragraph (c) shall thereupon be resumed.

        (e) Standing Order No. 15(1) (Exempted business) shall apply to proceedings on such a Motion.

(17) (a) No dilatory Motion shall be made in relation to proceedings to which this Order applies except by a Minister of the Crown.

        (b) The Question on any such Motion shall be put forthwith.

(18) (a) The start of any debate under Standing Order No. 24 (Emergency debates) to be held on a day on which the Bill has been set down to be taken as an Order of the Day shall be postponed until the conclusion of any proceedings on that day to which this Order applies.

        (b) Standing Order No. 15(1) (Exempted business) shall apply in respect of any such debate.

(19) Proceedings to which this Order applies shall not be interrupted under any Standing Order relating to the sittings of the House.

(20) (a)    Any private business which has been set down for consideration at a time falling after the commencement of proceedings on this Order or on the Bill on a day on which the Bill has been set down to be taken as an Order of the Day shall, instead of being considered as provided by Standing Orders or by any Order of the House, be considered at the conclusion of the proceedings on the Bill on that day.

        (b) Standing Order No. 15(1) (Exempted business) shall apply to the private business so far as necessary for the purpose of securing that the business may be considered for a period of three hours.—(Mr Simon Clarke.)

6National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Bill: Second Reading

Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House (Order, today).

7National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Bill: Money

Queen’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 National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Bill, it is expedient to authorise the payment out of money provided by Parliament of any increase in the sums payable under any other Act out of money so provided that is attributable to increasing the thresholds at which primary Class 1 contributions, Class 2 contributions and Class 4 contributions become payable to an amount not exceeding £12,570 for a tax year (or its weekly or monthly equivalent).—(Miss Sarah Dines.)

Question agreed to.

8National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Bill: Committee of the whole House

The House resolved itself into a Committee without any Question being put (Order, today).

(In the Committee)

Clause 1 (Increase of primary threshold for primary Class 1 contributions)

Amendment 1 proposed.—(Wera Hobhouse.)

Question proposed, That the Amendment be made.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clauses 1 to 6 agreed to.

The occupant of the Chair left the Chair to report the Bill (Order, today).

________________

The Deputy Speaker resumed the Chair.

Rebecca Harris reported, That the Committee had gone through the Bill and made no amendments.

9National Insurance Contributions (Increase of Thresholds) Bill: Third Reading

Bill read the third time, and passed.

10Adjournment

Subject: Lower Thames Crossing (Adam Holloway)

Resolved, That this House do now adjourn.—(Rebecca Harris.) 

Adjourned at 4.38 pm until Monday 28 March.

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).

11First Delegated Legislation Committee (draft Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2022)

Chair: Stewart Hosie

Members: Stuart Anderson and Sarah Atherton discharged and Peter Gibson and Fay Jones nominated in substitution.

Reports from Select Committees

12Backbench Business Committee 

Determination of business to be taken on Monday 28 and Thursday 31 March in the Chamber and Thursday 31 March in Westminster Hall (Ian Mearns).

13Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee

(1) Pre-appointment hearing for Chair of the Charity Commission: Oral evidence, to be published (HC 1200);

(2) Concussion in sport: Written evidence, to be published (HC 46)

(Julian Knight).

14Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee and Transport Committee 

P&O Ferries: Oral evidence, to be published (HC 1231) (Huw Merriman).

Lindsay Hoyle

Speaker

Westminster Hall

The sitting began at 1.30 pm.

Business determined by the Backbench Business Committee (Standing Orders No. 10(7) and No. 14(4))

1World TB Day 2022

Resolved, That this House has considered World TB Day 2022.—(Mr Virendra Sharma.)

2Sitting adjourned without Question put (Standing Order No. 10(14)).

Adjourned at 2.35 pm until Monday 28 March.

Eleanor Laing

Chairman of Ways and Means

Papers Laid

Papers subject to Negative Resolution

1Customs

Customs (Additional Duty) (Russia and Belarus) Regulations 2022 (SI, 2022, No. 376), dated 23 March 2022 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Penny Mordaunt)

2Education

Further Education Loans (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (SI, 2022, No. 354), dated 22 March 2022 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Michelle Donelan)

3Extradition

Extradition Act 2003 (Part 1 Territories) (Designation of Prosecutors) (Scotland) Order 2022 (SI, 2022, No. 366), dated 23 March 2022 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Secretary Priti Patel)

4Social Security

Statutory Sick Pay (General) (Coronavirus Amendment) Regulations 2022 (SI, 2022, No. 380), dated 24 March 2022 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Chloe Smith)

Other papers

5Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Minute, dated 24 March 2022, concerning notification of a contingent liability in respect of the Energy Supply Company Special Administration Regime: Bulb Energy Limited (by Command) (Greg Hands)

6Coronavirus

Two Monthly Report on the status on the non-devolved provisions of the Coronavirus Act 2020 (by Act) (Secretary Sajid Javid)

7Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Plan of the Competition and Markets Authority (by Act) (Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng)

8Export Control

(1) Export of Objects of Cultural Interest (by Act) (Secretary Nadine Dorries)

(2) Report of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (by Act) (Secretary Nadine Dorries)

9Social Security Administration

Report by the Social Security Advisory Committee and Statement by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the draft Statutory Sick Pay (General) (Coronavirus Amendment) Regulations 2022 (by Act) (Secretary Thérèse Coffey)

10Treaty Series No. 4 (2022)

Decision, entered into force on 22 February 2022, No 1/2022 of the Joint Committee established by the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of 21 February 2022 amending the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (by Command) (CP 633) (Secretary Elizabeth Truss)