Parliament and Government Summary — 21 April 2026

Parliament’s day was dominated by justice and governance business, with MPs continuing to scrutinise legislation affecting England’s devolution and local empowerment, alongside detailed committee work on courts and tribunals. In the Lords, peers split their focus between major justice bills, health outcomes for cancer patients, and an international debate on Sudan. Separately, the Government published new crime statistics and issued a response to a Lords committee on rebuilding forensic science for criminal justice.

At a glance

• MPs in the Commons tackled a Westminster Hall debate on sex trafficking in Scotland, alongside another on wheelchair provision and oversight—both focusing on serious safeguarding and accessibility issues for vulnerable people.
• Back in the Commons chamber, MPs considered the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill and then held multiple divisions on government motions to disagree with specific Lords amendments, as the Bill progressed through stages after Lords consideration.
• The Government and Parliament also moved on justice capacity and public information: the Government published crime statistics for England and Wales, and issued a response to a Lords Science and Technology Committee report on rebuilding forensic science for criminal justice.

In the Commons

• In Westminster Hall, MPs debated sex trafficking in Scotland, focusing on the safeguarding and countering of serious exploitation. [1]
• MPs also used Westminster Hall to debate wheelchair provision and an independent review body, linking disability support to stronger scrutiny of service provision. [2]
• In the Commons chamber, MPs considered the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, a legislative change affecting governance and local empowerment in England. [3]
• MPs in the Commons chamber discussed Road Surfaces (Maximum Noise Levels), addressing traffic-noise standards that can affect residents’ everyday living conditions and local amenity. [4]

In the Lords

• Peers discussed Sudan in the Lords Chamber, reflecting a focus on an international crisis with security and humanitarian concerns. [5]
• In Grand Committee, peers considered cancer outcomes in the UK, reflecting ongoing public interest in how health services deliver results for patients. [6]
• Peers also had Lords Chamber business on the Crime and Policing Bill, a major domestic justice measure about how crime is handled. [7]
• Separately, the Lords Chamber considered the Victims and Courts Bill, a domestic justice bill centred on support for victims and the operation of court processes. [8]

Votes

• The Commons held a sequence of divisions on government motions to disagree with specific Lords amendments to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (eight divisions in the group, from 493 to 500). [9] Vote result × Division 2328 Lords Amendment 2 – rural affairs competence Motion agreed 21 April 2026 at 18:59 MPs voted on Lords Amendment 2, which concerned whether rural affairs should be separately identified in the Bill’s competence framework.
  293 Ayes 155 Noes View vote details [10] Vote result × Division 2329 Lords Amendment 4 – appointing commissioners Motion agreed 21 April 2026 at 19:12 MPs voted on Lords Amendment 4, which concerned the process for appointing commissioners under the Bill.
  298 Ayes 152 Noes View vote details [11] Vote result × Division 2330 Lords Amendment 13 – GLA budget changes Motion agreed 21 April 2026 at 19:24 MPs voted on Lords Amendment 13, which concerned how changes to a proposed Greater London Authority budget could be approved.
  297 Ayes 147 Noes View vote details [12] Vote result × Division 2331 Lords Amendment 26 – brownfield land Motion agreed 21 April 2026 at 19:36 MPs voted on Lords Amendment 26, which concerned treatment of brownfield land in the planning and development provisions of the Bill.
  287 Ayes 149 Noes View vote details [13] Vote result × Division 2332 Lords Amendment 36 – local authority executive arrangements Motion agreed 21 April 2026 at 19:47 MPs voted on Lords Amendment 36, which concerned local authority executive arrangements under the Bill.
  288 Ayes 147 Noes View vote details [14] Vote result × Division 2333 Lords Amendment 37 – parish council representation Motion agreed 21 April 2026 at 19:58 MPs voted on the Commons response to Lords Amendment 37, which concerned parish council representation in neighbourhood structures.
  291 Ayes 144 Noes View vote details [15] Vote result × Division 2334 Lords Amendment 41 – agent of change principle Motion agreed 21 April 2026 at 20:10 MPs voted on Lords Amendment 41, which concerned whether the agent of change principle should be placed in the Bill.
  284 Ayes 149 Noes View vote details [16] Vote result × Division 2335 Lords Amendment 98 – strategic authorities Motion agreed 21 April 2026 at 20:22 MPs voted on Lords Amendment 98, which concerned processes connected with combined authorities and strategic authority arrangements in England.
  287 Ayes 150 Noes View vote details

Bills and legislation

• In the Commons, the Courts and Tribunals Bill was in committee stage, marking the detailed scrutiny phase before later stages of the legislative process. [17]

Government announcements

• The Government published crime figures for England and Wales for the year ending September 2026, using both police-recorded crime data and the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). [18]
• The Government also issued a joint statement—co-chaired by the Prime Minister and France’s President—following an international summit on the Strait of Hormuz involving 51 countries, emphasising freedom of navigation and international law. [19]

Committees

• The Lords Science and Technology Committee’s work on rebuilding forensic science for criminal justice received a Government response, published following the committee’s scrutiny. [20]

Sources used

1. Sex Trafficking: Scotland — Hansard
2. Wheelchair Provision: Independent Review Body — Hansard
3. English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill — Hansard
4. Road Surfaces (Maximum Noise Levels) — Hansard
5. Sudan — Hansard
6. Cancer Outcomes in the UK — Hansard
7. Crime and Policing Bill — Hansard
8. Victims and Courts Bill — Hansard
9. English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Government motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 2 — Votes in Parliament
10. English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Government motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 4 — Votes in Parliament
11. English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Government motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 13 — Votes in Parliament
12. English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Government motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 26 — Votes in Parliament
13. English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Government motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 36 — Votes in Parliament
14. English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Government motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 37 — Votes in Parliament
15. English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Government motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 41 — Votes in Parliament
16. English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Government motion to disagree to Lords Amendment 98 — Votes in Parliament
17. Courts and Tribunals Bill — UK Parliament Bills
18. Crime in England and Wales: year ending September 2026 — GOV.UK
19. Joint Statement by President Macron and Prime Minister Starmer, Co-chairs of the International Summit on the Strait of Hormuz: 17 April 2026 — GOV.UK
20. Government response to Rebuilding Forensic Science for Criminal Justice: An urgent need — UK Parliament Committees

Licensing

Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

Last updated

First published on 21 April 2026. No corrections at the time of publication.