Debate on 11th March: The national minimum wage and poverty. This Library Note aims to provide background reading for the debate to be held on 11th March: “The impact of the National Minimum Wage on household and individual poverty” This Note examines the history and development of the National Minimum Wage since its introduction in 1999, and its effect on earnings, the economy, and groups within society. The Note then examines levels and trends in poverty since the election of the Labour Government and the subsequent introduction of the National Minimum Wage.
Debate on 11th March: The national minimum wage and poverty. LLN 2010/008 (328 KB , PDF)
Debate on 11th March: The national minimum wage and poverty. LLN 2010/008 (328 KB , PDF)
The Still-Birth (Definition) Bill [HL] would amend the legal definition of stillbirth in England and Wales to apply from 20 weeks into a pregnancy, rather than the current 24 weeks. It is scheduled to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 4 July 2025.
![Still-Birth (Definition) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 39 of 2024–25](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/paolo-nicolello-KY6NHtBWJB8-unsplash-1-568x320.jpg)
The government has committed to reducing and reclaiming public money lost to fraud and error. The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill contains provisions to extend Cabinet Office and Public Sector Fraud Authority powers to tackle fraud and error outside the tax and benefits system, and also expands powers to tackle fraud within the benefits system. The bill is due to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 15 May 2025.
The House of Lords is due to discuss NHS staff access to single-sex spaces on 1 May 2025. Following a recent Supreme Court judgment about the meaning of the term ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010, the Equality and Human Rights Commission issued an interim update on 25 April 2025 about the implications of this for workplaces and services provided to the public.
