article: Mostly they're sweeping up some legislative fag-ends, but the Tuesday debates on the process of Brexit could provide some significant action, as the Labour Lords ("the effective wing of the party," one peer murmured to me) seek to keep up pressure on the government on two long term issues where they are seen as being vulnerable. And watch out for the publication of the Commons Brexit Committee's latest report, which has, even before publication, produced a damaging squabble between Leave and Remain Committee members. (Incidentally someone asked in comments on my earlier post on this, how the committee members are chosen - they are elected from within each party group.) MPs are back in the Commons on Tuesday 18 April, and peers will return on Monday 24 April. Here's my rundown of the week ahead: The Lords meet at 2.30pm - when questions to ministers will include Labour's Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe raising the display and promotion of alcohol in supermarkets and the danger to the health and well-being of children. The day's main debates are on internal issues. First up, there will be a motion to approve plans for the next Parliamentary year's crop of special select committees to conduct one-off inquiries. The chosen subjects are: the economic, ethical and social implications of advances in artificial intelligence; citizenship and civic engagement; the effects of political polling and digital media on politics, and finally, a post-legislative scrutiny committee on the impact of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. This last one will look at how effective the Act has been in its purposes of conserving biodiversity, promoting open spaces and open-air recreation, and meeting rural needs. Normally this kind of inquiry has been aimed at examining how highly technical measures are playing out, but this one will focus more on how public policy is unfolding. All four committees will be instructed to report by the end of March 2018. After that, peers will vote on a report from their Privileges and Conduct Select Committee recommending some changes to the rules for declarations of interests for peers with "significant control of a company". This proposes a number of tweaks to the wording - so financial and non-financial interests would have to be declared if a reasonable member of the public might think a peer would (rather than "might") be be influenced by them. Finally peers will have their second committee stage debate on the detail of the Criminal Finances Bill, which deals with terrorist property, creates corporate offences on tax evasion and money laundering. At this stage of debate, peers rarely force issues to a vote, but they will probe the government on issues like creating registers of beneficial ownership of companies in the UK's Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, a wider definition of "economic crime" and there's an interesting looking Labour amendment which would create a "corporate probation order" under which companies convicted of offences under the Act would be placed under supervision. And another amendment would allow the courts to disqualify directors of companies convicted of offences. Finally, there
summary: MPs have already begun their Easter break - but the Lords legislate on.