Business for the House of Commons for the week commencing 12th December 2016.
Monday 12th December
The House meets at 2:30pm for Defence Questions
Remaining Stages of the Savings (Government Contributions) Bill
Debate on a Motion relation to the Welfare Cap
TUESDAY 13th December
The House meets at 11:30am for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions
Ten Minute Rule Motion: Mutualisation of the Royal Bank of Scotland – Gareth Thomas
Remaining Stages of the Neighbourhood Planning Bill
WEDNESDAY 14th December
The House meets at 11:30am for Cabinet Office and Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster Questions
At 12 noon: Prime Minister’s Questions
Ten Minute Rule Motion: Financial Regulation of Funeral Services – Neil Gray
Opposition Day (16th Allotted Day). There will be a debate entitled The Disproportionate Negative Effect of the Government’s Autumn Statement and Budgetary Measures on Women
Followed by
Debate on Homelessness.
Followed by
Motion to Approve a Statutory Instrument Relating to Counter-Extremism
THURSDAY 15TH DECEMBER
The House will meet at 9:30am for Culture, Media & Sport and International Trade Questions
At 10:30am: Business Questions
Debate on a Motion on Creation of Commercial Financial Dispute Resolution Platform
Followed By
General Debate on Broadband Universal Service Obligation
ALEC’S VIEW FROM WESTMINSTER
Monday sees the start of the remaining seven sitting days of Parliament for 2016 and there is a packed schedule, with almost certainly a Statement by the Prime Minister at half past three on Monday about her recent visit to the Gulf States.
Statements are not in the forward planned business so an assumption is made that there will be a statement straight after questions on the first day the Prime Minister is back in the House of Commons, which will allow backbenchers to ask a question to the Prime Minister relating to her recent visit, which I am sure will be dominated by Britain’s on-going relationship with the Middle East.
There is also the remaining stages of the Savings Bill (Government Contributions) and a debate on the welfare cap, which under this government has limited the total benefits people can claim so that you are never better off on benefits than in work.
Due to the importance of statements and remaining stages of bills and protected time on the welfare debate, the Ten O-clock finish on Monday night will be suspended, so colleagues are ready for a probable twenty hour day.
Tuesday again sees the remaining stage of another important bill, this time the Neighbourhood and Planning Bill that has been a key plank of this session of parliament, helping communities to be able to speed up their neighbourhood plans and have a binding input into local house building in their area.
The last Prime Minister’s Questions of 2016 on Wednesday promises to be a lively affair as we reach the end of a year that can be described as nothing less than one of the most significant years in British politics since the Second World War and with our new Prime Minister doing an incredible job handling the tumultuous events that now face our country.
The main chamber on Wednesday afternoon sees the 16th Opposition day debate of the current parliamentary session, but perhaps more significantly is a debate in Westminster Hall on Wednesday afternoon from the SNP entitled ‘Scotland and the process of leaving the EU’.
This must be carefully monitored as a senior member of the SNP declared in the Commons last Wednesday that if the Supreme Court rules that the Scottish Parliament must also give approval to leave the European Union, then the SNP would block Brexit. This constitutional crisis would put Britain in unprecedented waters and even a fresh General Election may well fail to resolve the issue.
The constitutional implications of the Supreme Court decision in January could potentially hold the fate of the Union in its hands.
The remaining four days, going into next week, sees several general and backbench business debates, but it also includes next Monday the third debate on exiting the EU, this time focusing on the issues of Science and Technology. Parliament is slowly debating all aspects of Brexit and this is a key contribution to the Governments Brexit strategy as it assess all of the different aspects debated in the House of Commons.