The Courts and Tribunals Bill would introduce various reforms to courts and tribunals in England and Wales. The government said the measures would help reduce the court delays and improve efficiency, however proposals affecting jury trials, magistrates’ courts and appeal rights have proved controversial during the bill’s passage through the House of Commons. Its second reading in the House of Lords is due to take place on 27 October 2026.
The House of Lords (Alternative Second Chamber Bill) [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru). It would require the secretary of state to carry out a consultation regarding proposals for replacing the House of Lords with an alternative second chamber. The bill specifies whom the secretary of state would be required to consult with and the timeframe of that consultation.
![House of Lords (Alternative Second Chamber) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 11 of 2026–27](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/55076018649_7f9f930f9b_c.jpg)
The British Sovereignty Protection (Chagos Islands) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill sponsored by Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party). The bill would restrict any cession or transfer of sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) unless certain requirements were met, including the consent of the Chagossian people and an act of parliament. It would also see the UK remain sovereign over the military base on Diego Garcia.
![British Sovereignty Protection (Chagos Islands) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 15 of 2026–27](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/2048px-ISS060-E-14816_-_View_of_the_Chagos_Archipelago-e1749824066120-1232x693.jpg)
Research Briefing
The Health Bill is intended to make changes to the NHS in England, including abolishing NHS England. It would also abolish Healthwatch and move the Heath Services Safety Inspectorate Board into the CQC. The bill would establish a single patient record, making patient data available across healthcare settings and directly to patients. In the House of Commons, amendments were made on visiting patients, medicines and medical devices regulation, and pharmaceutical services.
Research Briefing
The Sovereign Grant Bill is a government bill which would amend how the sovereign grant is set. This is a grant paid to the King to support the work of the sovereign. The bill would enable the size of the sovereign grant to be reduced following the completion of a 10-year works project on Buckingham Palace. The bill received cross-party support and was not amended in the House of Commons.
Research Briefing
The bill is a government bill that would make a range of changes to the legal framework concerning elections, including extending the franchise for UK parliamentary elections and other reserved elections to 16- and 17-year-olds. The bill was amended during both its committee and report stages in the House of Commons, with many of the government’s later amendments implementing recommendations from the Rycroft review on countering foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics.
Research Briefing
The Commercial Payments Bill [HL] seeks to tackle late payments to small businesses. It would impose minimum payment periods for invoices, prohibit the use of retentions in construction contracts and provide the small business commissioner with greater powers. The bill received an unopposed second reading in the House of Lords on 9 June 2026. 30 government amendments were made to the bill at committee stage.
Research Briefing
The Public Office (Accountability) Bill is a government bill introduced in the House of Commons in the 2024–26 session. It was carried over to the current session and completed its Commons stages on 14 July 2026. It is scheduled to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 1 September 2026.
Research Briefing
The Microplastic Filters (Washing Machines) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Conservative). It would require new washing machines to have filters to capture microfibres, a form of microplastic shed from synthetic clothing. It would also impose a duty on the secretary of state to promote awareness of microfibre pollution. The bill’s second reading in the House of Lords is scheduled for 11 September 2026.
Research Briefing
The bill would make the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) primarily responsible for certain youth justice functions, provide a formal role for the Welsh government in some youth justice decisions, and restrict the UK government’s ability to alter the YJB’s functions through secondary legislation.
Research Briefing
The Leaseholder Remediation (Building Safety) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill that would prevent developers and building owners from recovering remediation costs for systemic defects from protected leaseholders in residential buildings containing any leasehold properties, with no minimum height or storey threshold. Systemic defects would include unsafe cladding and structural deficiencies. The House of Lords is scheduled to debate the bill at second reading on 11 September 2026.
Research Briefing
The Creative Education Access Bill [HL] would introduce a minimum entitlement to creative and cultural education for pupils at state-funded schools in England. The bill would establish a minimum number of hours of creative learning per week and would require schools to take reasonable steps to develop partnerships with the creative sector.
Research Briefing
The Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL] is a wide-ranging bill that aims to reform the way the UK financial services sector is regulated. This briefing provides a summary of the bill’s second reading and committee stage in the House of Lords ahead of its further consideration at report.
Research Briefing
The Conduct of Undercover Policing and Surveillance Operatives Bill is a private member’s bill introduced in the House of Lords. It would make it an offence for a person deployed as a covert human intelligence source (CHIS) to engage in an intimate sexual relationship with any person they have been deployed to target, who is a member of the group they have been deployed to target, or whom they encounter during their deployment.
Research Briefing
The bill would enable the High Court in England and Wales, the Court of Session in Scotland and the High Court in Northern Ireland, to make preliminary determinations on whether a genocide is occurring overseas, or if there is deemed to be a serious risk of one occurring. The bill would require the government to refer the preliminary determination to international bodies such as the International Court of Justice.
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