We’re back in Westminster at the start of what is expected to be a busy first week back for MPs.
I’m keeping an eye out for a possible re-jigging of the current Commons agenda to accommodate the Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill.
This has been drafted and available for quite a while, and if ministers decide that this is the moment to bring it in, they will doubtless seek to speed it through both Houses - thus opening the possibility that unions could be sued for damages by operating companies, if they fail to maintain a minimum service during industrial action.
MPs will also want to probe reports of major changes to government policy on social care, child care, maths in schools and the privatisation of Channel 4. I will keep you all updated.
Elsewhere, it's set to be a quiet week in the Lords, with no votes expected, and select committee action is a little thin as a new set of inquiries gather pace, and several new chairs start their new roles - but the Transport Committee hearing on the rail strikes (Wednesday) will certainly grab attention, not least because we’ll be taking evidence from Mick Lynch of the RMT.
Finally there's talk that the government plans to postpone the end of the parliamentary year until November, allowing more time to push through the backlog of big bills queued up for consideration in the Lords.
It would certainly have been a rush to hammer them through in time to prorogue or suspend Parliament, and hold the State Opening for a new session, in May. And a delay would also avoid pageantry overload, with a State Opening hard on the heels of King Charles's coronation.
Today (Monday) here’s an inroad debate on the Procurement Bill, much amended when it went through the Lords. I’m interested to hear concerns about the security concerns around Chinese made Hikvison CCTV cameras, which are used by many UK police forces.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me!
