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Votes and Proceedings
Thursday 7 December 2023

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.

1The Speaker’s Absence

The Clerk at the Table informed the House of the unavoidable absence, through illness, of the Speaker from this day’s sitting.

Dame Eleanor Laing, the Chairman of Ways and Means, proceeded to the Table.

Prayers

2Deputy Speaker in the Chair

Dame Eleanor Laing, the Chairman of Ways and Means, took the Chair as Deputy Speaker (Standing Order No. 3).

3Questions to (1) the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

(2) the Attorney General

4Urgent Question: Expediting the contract process for refurbishing trains (Huw Merriman)

5Statements: (1) Cyber interference: UK democracy (Leo Docherty)

(2) Business Statement (Leader of the House)

(3) Licence fee uplift and BBC funding model review (Secretary Lucy Frazer)

6Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill: Presentation (Standing Order No. 57)

Secretary James Cleverly, supported by the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary Oliver Dowden and Michael Tomlinson, presented a Bill to make provision about the removal of certain migrants to the Republic of Rwanda.

Bill read the first time; to be read a second time on Monday 11 December, and to be printed (Bill 38), with Explanatory Notes (Bill 38–EN).

7Backbench Business

(1) Tackling Islamophobia

Resolved, That this House has considered the matter of tackling Islamophobia.—(Naz Shah.)

(2) Implementation of public registers of beneficial ownership in the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies

Motion made and Question proposed, That this House notes the implementation of public registers of beneficial ownership in the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies; believes that the Government needs to respect the will of Parliament and meet the implementation deadline at the end of 2023; encourages the Government to lay an Order in Council formally requiring the UK’s Overseas Territories to implement public registers of beneficial ownership if the deadline is not met; and considers public registers of beneficial ownership to be an essential transparency measure to combat tax evasion, money laundering and other economic crimes.—(Dame Margaret Hodge.)

At 5 pm, the debate was interrupted (Standing Order No. 9(3)).

8Adjournment

Subject: Violent crime and antisocial behaviour in Carshalton and Wallington constituency (Elliot Colburn)

Resolved, That this House do now adjourn.—(Joy Morrissey.)

Adjourned at 5.20 pm until Monday 11 December.

Other Proceedings

General Committees: Reports

9Media Bill Committee

Martin Vickers (Chair) reported written evidence submitted to the Committee.

Written evidence to be published.

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).

10First Delegated Legislation Committee (draft Judicial Pensions (Remediable Service etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2023)

Members: Derek Thomas discharged and George Freeman nominated in substitution.

11Third Delegated Legislation Committee (draft York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Order 2023)

Members: Jo Gideon discharged and David Duguid nominated in substitution.

Select Committees: Reports

12Backbench Business Committee 

Determination of business to be taken on Thursday 14 December in the Chamber and Thursday 14 December and Tuesday 19 December in Westminster Hall (Ian Mearns).

13Northern Ireland Affairs Committee 

Correspondence with the Minister for Levelling Up: Written evidence, to be published (Sir Robert Buckland).

14Public Accounts (Committee of)

(1) Competition in public procurement: Sixth Report, to be printed, with the formal minutes relating to the Report (HC 385);

(2) Managing government borrowing: Oral evidence, to be published (HC 74)

(Dame Meg Hillier).

Eleanor Laing

Chairman of Ways and Means

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))

175th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on Genocide

Resolved, That this House has considered the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Convention on Genocide.—(Tony Lloyd.)

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

Adjourned at 3.29 pm until Monday 11 December.

Eleanor Laing

Chairman of Ways and Means

Papers Laid

Papers subject to Affirmative Resolution

1National Crime Agency

Draft National Crime Agency (Directed Tasking) Order 2023 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Secretary James Cleverly)

Papers subject to Negative Resolution

2Civil Proceedings

Prohibition of Cross-Examination in Person (Fees of Court-Appointed Qualified Legal Representatives) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI, 2023, No. 1319), dated 4 December 2023 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Secretary Alex Chalk)

3Family Proceedings

Family Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2023 (SI, 2023, No. 1324), dated 30 November 2023 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Secretary Alex Chalk)

4Financial Services

Central Counterparties (Equivalence) (United States of America) (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) Regulations 2023 (SI, 2023, No. 1323), dated 5 December 2023 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum and an Impact Assessment (by Command) (Bim Afolami)

5Immigration

Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (by Act), to be printed (HC 246), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Secretary James Cleverly)

6Legal Aid and Advice

Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI, 2023, No. 1322), dated 4 December 2023 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Secretary Alex Chalk)

7Local Government

(1) Draft Northumberland (Electoral Changes) Order 2024 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (The Speaker)

(2) Draft Shropshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2024 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (The Speaker)

(3) Draft Worcester (Electoral Changes) Order 2024 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (The Speaker)

8Sanctions

Haiti (Sanctions) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI, 2023, No. 1320), dated 5 December 2023 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (David Rutley)

9Trade Unions

Code of Practice (Reasonable Steps for Trade Unions) Order 2023 (SI, 2023, No. 1333), dated 6 December 2023 (by Act), with an Explanatory Memorandum (by Command) (Kevin Hollinrake)

Other papers

10Air Force (Constitution)

(1) Air Publication 3376 Volume 1 (Sixteenth Edition) - Terms and Conditions of Service for Enlisted Aviators of the Royal Air Force (by Act) (James Heappey)

(2) Air Publication 3393 Volume 1 (Twenty-seventh Edition) - Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers of the Royal Air Force (by Act) (James Heappey)

11Business and Trade

Trade and Agriculture Commission: Advice to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the UK’s Accession Protocol to CPTPP (by Command) (CP 982) (Secretary Kemi Badenoch)

12Foreign, Commonwealth and Development

Response to the Independent Review of FCDO Funded Scholarship Schemes (by Command) (CP 981) (Mr Andrew Mitchell)

13Government Resources and Accounts

(1) Report and Accounts of Phone-paid Services Authority Limited for 2022–23, with the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (by Statutory Instrument), to be printed (HC 89) (Sir John Whittingdale)

(2) Report and Accounts of Valuation Office Agency for 2022–23, with the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (by Act), to be printed (HC 91) (Nigel Huddleston)

14National Citizen Service

Report and Accounts of the National Citizen Service Trust for 2022–23, with the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (by Act), to be printed (HC 81) (Stuart Andrew)

SPEAKER'S CERTIFICATES

VOTING BY PROXY (Standing Order No. 39A)

Member

From

To

Proxy

John Howell

11 December

10 July 2024

Mr Marcus Jones