Private members’ bills with government support lost at dissolution 2024: How close was Parliament to changing the law on licensing hours, puppy smuggling, virtual court hearings and more?

Approximate read time: 10 minutes

1. Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill

The Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill aimed to end ‘puppy smuggling’ and similar practices. It intended to raise the age of imported animals and end the importation of heavily pregnant dogs and cats. It would also have limited the importation of ‘mutilated’ animals, including dogs with cropped tails or ears and declawed cats. Ending puppy smuggling was a 2019 Conservative manifesto pledge.^[1] The measures in this PMB reflected provisions in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, which the previous government chose not to progress in 2023, stating that individual measures would be taken forward separately.^[2] The Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill started in the Commons and did not progress beyond second reading. The 2024 Labour manifesto committed to ending puppy smuggling. Measures were not included in the July 2024 King’s Speech.

2. Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and International Committee of the Red Cross (Status) Bill would have changed the status of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The CPA is an international community of Commonwealth parliaments and legislatures with a mandate to promote and strengthen parliamentary democracy.^[3] The ICRC is an independent organisation with a mandate from the Geneva Convention that works to assist victims of conflict and other violence.^[4] The bill would have given the government powers to grant the organisations certain privileges and immunities through an order in council. It would also have provided for references to international organisations in general legislation to include the CPA and ICRC. The bill started in the Commons and fell awaiting committee stage in the House of Lords. The new government has reintroduced the bill. A government bill with the same aims had its second reading in the House of Lords on 29 July 2024.^[5]

3. Community and Suspended Sentences (Notification of Details) Bill

The Community and Suspended Sentences (Notification of Details) Bill would have required offenders serving a sentence in the community, and who are supervised by probation or a youth offending team, to inform the responsible officer if they change their name, use a different name (an alias) or change their contact information. In August 2022, the Criminal Justice (Sentencing) (Licence Conditions) (Amendment) (No 2) Order 2022 was passed, requiring offenders on licence to provide the same information to their probation officer. This bill would have aligned the requirements across the different types of sentence. The bill was brought by Ruth Jones (Labour MP for Newport West and Islwyn) and reached committee stage in the House of Commons before the dissolution of Parliament.

4. Courts (Remote Hearings) Bill

The Courts (Remote Hearings) Bill would have enabled certain cases to be heard remotely via live audio or video link in magistrates’, county and family courts. The bill aimed to remove the need to move people from police cells to courts, particularly in cases such as breaches of certain injunctions and orders in which the police have powers to bring the defendant to court within 24 hours. It would also have meant judges and magistrates would not have to attend courts in person out of hours and on weekends. The bill started in the Commons and reached committee stage in that House.

5. Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill

The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill was brought by Thérèse Coffey, former secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs. It contained measures similar to those in the dropped Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. The PMB would have extended the definition of livestock to llamas and alpacas, brought livestock worrying or attacks on roads and paths within the scope of the offence, and given the police more powers to gather evidence, enter properties and seize dogs. The bill made it through the Commons, but fell after first reading in the Lords.

6. High Streets (Designation, Review and Improvement Plan) Bill

The High Streets (Designation, Review and Improvement Plan) Bill would have required local authorities in England to designate at least one street or network of streets in their area as a high street. Authorities would then have needed to prepare and publish an improvement plan for each designated high street area. The then government said the bill would “play an important role […] alongside other government interventions, as part of a broader strategy to help high streets”.^[6] The bill passed the Commons and fell after its second reading in the Lords.

7. Licensing Hours Extensions Bill

The Licensing Hours Extensions Bill, sponsored by Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck in the Commons, would have amended the Licensing Act 2003 so that changes to licensing hours could be made by statutory instrument under the negative rather than the affirmative procedure. The intention was to make it easier to relax opening hours at short notice, for example if a UK sports team reached a major final. The bill passed the Commons and had first reading in the Lords.

8. Local Government (Pay Accountability) Bill

The Local Government (Pay Accountability) Bill would have required local authorities to pass a resolution before advertising a job with an annual salary of £100,000 or more. The bill also included the ability for the amount to be amended by statutory instrument in future. This reflects statutory guidance from 2012. The bill, the explanatory notes said, would have been to “promote and protect the principle of best value for money for the taxpayer”. The bill started in the Commons and had its second reading before dissolution.

9. Pensions (Special Rules for End of Life) Bill

The Pensions (Special Rules for End of Life) Bill would have amended existing legislation covering the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme, changing the definition of a terminal illness. Currently, people with a life expectancy of up to six months can access payments. The bill would have changed this to 12 months. It started in the Commons and had its first reading in the Lords.

10. School Attendance (Duties of Local Authorities and Proprietors of Schools) Bill

The School Attendance (Duties of Local Authorities and Proprietors of Schools) Bill intended to address decreases in school attendance following the Covid-19 pandemic. Measures included making requirements in the Department for Education’s guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ statutory, as well as requiring schools and local authorities to publicise their school attendance policies. The bill started in the Commons and had its first reading in the Lords.

11. Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill

Secure academies were established under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 as a new type of provision for 16- to 19-year-olds in custody. The Secure 16 to 19 Academies Bill would have reduced the minimum notice period for government funding agreements to be terminated from seven years to two. It also intended to disapply certain requirements that apply to setting up other academy schools, for example consultation requirements to consider other educational provision in the area. The bill started in the Commons and had its first reading in the Lords.

12. Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill

Spaceflight activities from the UK, such as launching a satellite, require a licence. International law, including UN treaties, places obligations and liabilities on the state for space activities. The Space Industry Act 2018 requires licence holders to indemnify the government and other named public bodies against claims. The Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill would have required spaceflight operators to specify a limit on the amount of the licensee’s liability to indemnify the government and related bodies, so that no operator faced unlimited liability. Introducing the bill, Jonathan Lord (then Conservative MP for Woking) said that legal certainty that they would not face unlimited liability would encourage more operators to enter the UK space market.^[7] The bill started in the Commons and had its first reading in the Lords.

13. Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief Bill

The special envoy for freedom of religion or belief was established in 2018 to raise awareness of persecution and discrimination and promote freedom of religion and belief globally. The Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief Bill would have put the envoy’s office on a statutory footing and required the government to provide the envoy with staff and resources. This intended to fulfil recommendations from the Bishop of Truro’s review into Christian persecution overseas in 2019.^[8] The Conservative government committed in its 2019 manifesto to implement the review.^[9] The bill passed through the Commons and had its first reading in the Lords.

14. Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Bill

Strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP) is typically used by the subject of an allegation or investigation to prevent publication of claims by engaging journalists and others in costly litigation. The Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Bill would have allowed for claims to be struck out before trial if the court determined them to be a SLAPP claim. The bill’s long title stated it was “a bill to make provision about the misuse of litigation to suppress freedom of speech”. The bill was brought by then Labour MP Wayne David. It passed committee stage in the Commons before dissolution. In a recent Lords debate, the minister Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede said “I cannot make a commitment to a stand-alone bill, but there is nevertheless an urgent need for legislation”.^[10]

15. Successful private members’ bills from the 2023–24 session

All of the successful bills had government support.

• British Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act 2024
• Building Societies Act 1986 (Amendment) Act 2024
• Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024
• Pet Abduction Act 2024
• Zoological Society of London (Leases) Act 2024

The House of Lords Library publishes a briefing for every private member’s bill that receives second reading in the House of Lords.

---

Copyright House of Lords 2024 / Photography by Roger Harris ©