Parliament has published Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn’s, statement on the government’s approach to the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy & Reconciliation) Act 2023. Hilary Benn has provided comment on various aspects of the approach including the government formally writing to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal to abandon all its grounds of appeal against the Section 4 Human Rights Act declarations of incompatibility and how this demonstrates the government’s commitment to the Human Rights Act. Hilary Benn has also commented that the government will now undertake a period of consultation with interested parties, including victims and survivors, to seek their views.

Parliament has published the most recent version of the Employment Rights Bill, incorporating the amendments made to the Bill during the committee stage. Notable changes to the Bill include the addition of Statutory Sick Pay measures for Northern Ireland, the inclusion of a chapter in relation to seafarers, the increase in the time limit for bringing employment tribunal claims and an amendment to the circumstances around an employer’s duty to make a guaranteed hours offer and the requirements for withdrawing such offers. The Bill is now set for the report stage of its progress through Parliament.

Both Houses of Parliament were recalled to sit on Saturday 12 April, to consider legislation relating to British Steel. When it is not sitting, the Speaker can recall the House of Commons at the government’s request. The House of Lords is usually recalled by the Lord Speaker at the same time.

The European Parliament has voted to reject the European Commission's proposal to extend an interim derogation from ePrivacy Directive rules that permits service providers to voluntarily detect child sexual abuse online. With 228 votes in favour, 311 against and 92 abstentions, MEPs rejected the proposal during the first reading on extending the existing derogation. The Parliament's position, adopted on 11 March 2026, favoured extending the measures for a shorter period—until August 2027—than the Commission had proposed and with a narrower scope to ensure that the measures remain both proportional and targeted. Negotiations with the Council on the proposal did not lead to an agreement, which means the interim regulation will expire after 3 April 2026. Previously, the voluntary exemption had been extended in 2024 and since November 2023, Parliament had been prepared to negotiate a permanent framework.

The UK Parliament has provided an update on the government’s commitments made in response to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in a statement by Secretary of State for the Home Department, James Cleverly. Cleverly has said that the Criminal Justice Bill will be a legislative means of introducing the new mandatory reporting duty for those engaging with children across England to report known or witnessed incidents of child sexual abuse as recommended in the IICSA. Cleverly has noted the government’s work to establish a redress scheme for victims and survivors of non-recent child sexual abuse, the funding provided towards therapeutic support for victims and survivors and the work to create a new Child Protection Authority in England and Wales. The Home Secretary has also explained the government’s work in improving data quality and collection, more public awareness campaigns, the Secretary of State for Education’s efforts in fulfilling the role of a cabinet minister for children, as well as consultations and reviews of national standards and guidance. Cleverly has highlighted the Department for Education and Ministry of Justice’s efforts to improve staff recruitment and registration and highest-level Disclosure and Barring Service checks for those working with children. Lastly, Cleverly has addressed compliance with Victims’ Code, a future consultation on reform of limitation law in child sexual abuse cases, improving victims and survivors’ access to non-recent abuse records, and the use of the Online Safety Act 2023 to prevent, identify and remove harmful child sexual abuse online content.

Parliament has withdrawn the draft Register of Overseas Entities (Protection and Trusts) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Application of Company Law) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, which were laid before Parliament on 22 April 2026. The withdrawn regulations would have amended the Register of Overseas Entities (Delivery, Protection and Trust Services) Regulations 2022, SI 2022/870, the Register of Overseas Entities (Protection and Trusts) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/231 and the Limited Liability Partnerships (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2009, SI 2009/1084.

The European Parliament's public health committee has adopted new measures aimed at strengthening the availability and security of supply of critical medicines in the EU, tackling persistent shortages of essential drugs such as antibiotics, insulin, vaccines and treatments for chronic diseases. The draft rules propose to boost investment in EU manufacturing capacity, establish strategic projects and a dedicated security fund, encourage collaborative cross-border procurement, and improve supply chain resilience to reduce dependence on third-country suppliers. The legislation also seeks to enhance public health protection and competitiveness in the pharmaceutical sector. Parliament is expected to adopt its position during the January 2026 plenary session, with negotiations with EU governments set to follow.

Law360: The public sector ombudsman said on 7 May 2024 that it took the unusual step of issuing its report on systemic failures on women's state pension to Parliament because it was concerned that more retirees would die before the government acted on compensation.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Migration and Citizenship has issued a written ministerial statement, announcing that a new Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules has been laid before Parliament.

In brief A great deal of the business of Parliament is carried out by committees of MPs or peers working on a specific subject or task. Public bill committees work specifically on scrutinising and debating the detail of bills. Select committees take evidence and publish reports in specific policy areas. Select committees in the Commons Select committees have existed for centuries, but in the 20th century it began to be felt that they could be an important tool for scrutinising government, which had expanded in the modern age. Sir Ivor Jennings (Parliamentary Reform, Victor Gollancz, 1934, chapter XI) argued that an extension of the committee system...[would] make for stronger and more democratic government. They would bring the Government more closely into touch with public opinion without weakening its power to govern In the 1960s, six select committees devoted to specific policy areas were set up, and named Crossman committees after the then Leader of the House, Richard Crossman. But the present system of departmentally related select committees has existed since 1979, when the House agreed to what

A Parliamentary copyright work is a work made by or under the direction or control of the House of Commons or the House of Lords, which will qualify for copyright protection and the relevant House of Parliament is the first owner of the copyright.

This Practice Note considers the rules relating to dissolution, election and summoning of Parliament in the UK. Each Parliament lasts a maximum of five years until it is dissolved. Dissolution of Parliament is followed by a parliamentary general election, after which a new Parliament is summoned. Dissolution of Parliament Traditionally, the monarch dissolves Parliament using prerogative power to do so, following a request from the Prime Minister. Convention does not require the Prime Minister to consult anyone else beforehand. A Prime Minister wishing to call a general election asks the monarch to grant a dissolution of Parliament so that the election can take place. By convention, the monarch normally accedes to such a request. For over ten years from 2011 until 2022, the monarch’s prerogative power to dissolve Parliament was put in abeyance by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (FTPA 2011), which established a statutory scheme for the calling of early elections. FTPA 2011 was repealed by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 (DCPA 2022). DCPA 2022, s 2 revives the monarch’s