The current parliamentary session is to be extended to Autumn 2023, having originally been set to end in the Spring of next year, Downing Street has announced.
A spokesperson for prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said that the extension would allow the government to get through a “packed” parliamentary agenda and progress bills through Parliament that may not have done so otherwise.
The extension will provide ample time for the PM to follow through on his announcement earlier this week, during which he vowed to bring legislation to Parliament which would ban illegal migrants from claiming asylum in the UK.
Another bill that is set to benefit from the extension is the Online Safety Bill, which will force digital firms hosting user-generated content to do more to tackle and remove illegal or harmful online material, helping prevent such content being accessed by vulnerable people such as children.
The Online Safety Bill was one of 38 draft bills announced as part of the current legislative agenda in May under Boris Johnson’s premiership, and had been carried over from the previous parliamentary session.
The bill’s status of having already been carried over once, meant that government would have been unable to push the bill back to the next session of Parliament. This left it at risk of being scrapped entirely if it did not get through both Houses of Parliament before Spring.
This risk became more material when parliamentary business time was lost following Boris Johnson’s resignation and two subsequent changes in leadership, as well as during the period of national mourning following the death of Her Majesty, the Queen.
Now, the Online Safety Bill is expected to complete its passage through the Commons in early 2023, before proceeding to the House of Lords for scrutiny by peers in good time prior to next Autumn.
The extension will also provide time for the government to secure the passage of its Levelling Up Bill through Parliament. This legislation is critical to the delivery of the government’s landmark Levelling Up agenda and had only passed through the Commons this week.
This came after ministers were forced into concessions over housing targets and planning for onshore wind, to stave off a Conservative backbench rebellion. The Levelling Up Bill is now expected to be put before peers in 2023.
Meanwhile, the passage of a draft bill aimed at reducing the impact of industrial action on public transport will be put on hold, as ministers explore ways to extend its reach to cover other sectors. This decision comes as swathes of public sector workers including rail workers, postal workers, nurses, driving examiners, Border Force personnel and paramedics stage walkouts in December.
Image by Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing - , OGL 3, on Wikimedia Commons
