The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has published its Twenty Fifth Report of Session 2024–2025. The following instruments have been drawn to the special attention of the House: draft Protection of Children Code of Practice for search services; and the draft Protection of Children Code of Practice for user-to-user services. The following are instruments of interest: draft Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Hub and Spoke Dispensing etc.) Regulations 2025; draft Payment Services and Payment Accounts (Contract Termination) (Amendment) Regulations 2025; and Official Controls (Extension of Transitional Periods) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/526.

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has published its 26th Report of Session 2023–2024, which contains the SLSC’s scrutiny of instruments of interest and instruments excluded from being drawn to the special interest of the House. In this report, the SLSC highlights the oral evidence session on the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) increases to the Administrative Earnings Threshold with concerns raised about transparency, accountability and the DWP’s relations with Parliaments.

The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has published its twenty sixth report of session 2024–2025. The following instrument was drawn to the special attention of the House: Draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for Online Safety. The Statement, provided to Ofcom—the independent online safety regulator—sets out the Government’s policy priorities under the Online Safety Act 2023 and details five areas of focus: safety by design; transparency and accountability; agile regulation; inclusivity and resilience; and technology and innovation. It is intended to guide Ofcom in exercising its regulatory functions, with the regulator required to respond to the Statement within 40 days and publish annual progress reviews thereafter. Targeted consultations with civil society organisations indicated broad support for the priorities, although concerns remain regarding the sufficiency of Ofcom’s funding and staffing to handle its extensive responsibilities. The Committee also highlighted the emphasis on ‘algorithmic transparency’ as critical to addressing online harms, while noting the considerable challenges that Ofcom may face in ensuring effective oversight given the commercial sensitivity and international nature of algorithmic processes. The report is drawn to the House’s attention on the grounds of political and legal importance and public policy interest.

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has published its 27th Report of Session 2023-2024, which contains a summary of its work in Session 2023-2024, between 7 November 2023 until prorogation of Parliament on 24 May 2024. Due to the relatively short period between the Prime Minister's announcement of a general election and prorogation of Parliament and prorogation itself, the report is from a statistical perspective only. The SLSC has reported that it held 22 sessions, had published 26 reports and scrutinised 486 statutory instruments of which 44% were drawn to special attention of the House.

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has published its 27th Report of Session 2024–2025, drawing special attention to an instrument: the draft Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) Regulations 2025, which propose an exception in the Foreign State Influence regime, a framework originally established to limit foreign state involvement in UK media. The report also highlights instruments of interest, namely the Casinos (Gaming Machines and Mandatory Conditions) Regulations 2025; the draft Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) (Threshold Amount) (Amendment) Order 2025; Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System Sandbox) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/583; Childcare (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/590; and the Apprenticeships (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/599.

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has published its 29th Report of Session 2024–25, drawing special attention to two draft instruments. The first, Draft Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Suitability for Fixed Term Recall) Order 2025, proposes mandating a 28-day fixed term recall for offenders serving under four-year sentences (18 years or over), aiming to free up 1,400 prison places by November 2025. The second instrument, the Draft Online Safety Super-Complaints (Eligibility and Procedural Matters) Regulations 2025, outlines a framework for making super-complaints to the Office of Communications about systemic online safety issues, including stringent eligibility criteria and a cap of one complaint per six-month period.

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has published its 30th Report of Session 2024–2025, drawing attention to the Draft Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2025, which proposes the proscription of three groups—Palestine Action, Maniacs Murder Cult and the Russian Imperial Movement—under counter-terrorism legislation, and the Water Supply and Sewerage Services (Customer Service Standards) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, which update the Guaranteed Standards Scheme for the first time in 25 years but include an indexation mechanism that may not function as intended. The report also highlights instruments of interest including the Draft Warm Home Discount (Amendment) Regulations 2025, which expand eligibility and funding for energy bill support; the Draft Oliver McGowan Code of Practice on statutory learning disability and autism training, which sets standards for mandatory training in health and social care; and the Allocation of Housing (Qualification Criteria for Victims of Domestic Abuse and Care Leavers) (England) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/706, which standardise exemptions from local connection requirements across England.

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has published its 31st Report of Session 2024-25, drawing special attention to the Draft Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Removal of Prisoners for Deportation) Order 2025. The order would allow Foreign National Offenders to be deported up to four years before their release date and after serving 30% of their sentence, aiming to free 350-500 prison places.

The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has published its 32nd Report of 2024–25, drawing special attention to the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (Amendment) Regulations 2025. The regulations amend EU law to permit lifting chickens and small turkeys by their legs during transport—a practice currently prohibited but widely used. The SLSC highlights concerns about reduced welfare standards and inadequate enforcement, noting no prosecutions despite widespread non-compliance. The changes create a regulatory divergence between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, though the EU is expected to implement similar changes.

The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has published its 33rd Report of 2024–25, drawing special attention to Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC 997). The statement includes two key sets of measures. The first makes significant changes to the skilled worker visa route, tightening the conditions for granting such visas and removing the social care sector from the list of occupations eligible to recruit migrant workers. Several aspects of this new system remain unclear, pending a consultation that has yet to be launched. The second closes new applications to the two statutory schemes that supported Afghans who assisted UK operations and objectives in Afghanistan, including through resettlement in the UK. The statement is drawn to the special attention of the House due to insufficient explanatory material to clearly understand its policy objective or intended implementation.

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has published its 34th Report of Session 2024–26, drawing special attention to four statutory instruments. The Draft Extradition Act 2003 (Amendment to Designations) Order 2025 proposes changes to UK extradition arrangements with Hong Kong, Zimbabwe and Chile. The Committee highlights concerns over human rights implications, particularly regarding Hong Kong and criticises the government’s delay in addressing ‘irregular designations.’ The Global Irregular Migration and Trafficking in Persons Sanctions Regulations 2025, SI 2025/902 establish a first-of-its-kind global sanctions regime targeting people smuggling and trafficking. While the Committee notes the Explanatory Memorandum lacked sufficient detail and urges robust monitoring and evaluation.

The House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) has published its 37th report of session 2024–26. Two instruments were drawn to the special attention of the House: the Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC 1298) and the Advertising (Less Healthy Food and Drink) (Brand Advertising Exemption) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/1011. The Immigration Statement, laid on 4 September 2025, introduced a suspension on visa applications under the refugee family reunion route, which previously allowed individuals granted refugee status in the UK to apply to bring their partner and dependent children without conditions. The SLSC expressed concerns about the Home Office's policymaking process, highlighting the lack of impact estimates and uncertainty over whether the suspension is temporary or permanent. SI 2025/1011, laid on 10 September 2025, introduces an explicit exemption from restrictions on advertising less healthy food and drink products for brand advertising, intended to provide clarity to the Advertising Standards Authority ahead of the restrictions taking effect on 5 January 2026.