This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the second reading of the Cohabitation Rights Bill [HL] in the House of Lords on 15 March 2019.
Cohabitation Rights Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (173 KB , PDF)
The Cohabitation Rights Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames (Liberal Democrat). The bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 5 July 2017 and is due to receive its second reading on 15 March 2019. The bill proposes to establish a framework of rights for cohabiting couples following the breakdown of the relationship or the death of one of the cohabitants.
The bill’s provisions would apply only to those cohabiting couples who either had a dependent child or who had been living together as a couple for a minimum of three years. The bill would provide the right for either cohabitant, upon the breakdown of the relationship, to apply to a court for a financial settlement order to redress a financial benefit or an economic disadvantage resulting from the period of cohabitation. The bill would provide the right for cohabitants to opt-out of the financial settlement provisions, if they both agreed. In addition, the bill would provide cohabitants with the right to succeed to their partner’s estate under the intestacy rules and the right to have an insurable interest in the life of their partner, similar to the rights of married and civil partnered couples.
Cohabitation Rights Bill [HL]: Briefing for Lords Stages (173 KB , PDF)
While handling record demand, the social care sector in England is facing workforce, resource and funding pressures. There are also millions of people providing unpaid care. The new Labour government has announced an intention to create a ‘National Care Service’, and to improve NHS and social care integration as part of a 10-year plan for reform.
The Holocaust Memorial Bill is due to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 4 September 2024. This bill seeks to make provision for expenditure on the construction and operation of a Holocaust memorial and learning centre. It would also remove restrictions on building these in Victoria Tower Gardens, next to Parliament. It is a government bill, introduced under the previous Conservative government and continued by the newly elected Labour government. The bill is a hybrid bill, meaning it applies generally but also has a particular effect on specific groups, people or places. This entails additional stages for the bill. The bill is made up of two substantive clauses. It would extend to England and Wales, and apply to England. It would come into force two months after receiving royal assent.
This proposed law would make it a legal requirement for English local authorities to publish information about support services such as maternity and mental health services available in their area for infants, parents or carers of infants, or prospective parents or carers. This would be known as the ‘start for life offer’.
![Support for Infants and Parents etc (Information) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 6 of 2024–25](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Health-568x426.png)