Lords Back Right to Buy Reforms, Probe Party Donations

High-Level Summary

The House of Lords began with oaths and a condolence announcement, followed by oral questions, a Private Notice Question on political donations, first readings of two House of Lords Bills, and a repeated ministerial Statement on the Government’s economic response to the Middle East situation. Peers questioned Ministers on the Sovereign AI Fund, implementation of equalities case law, labour‑market conditions, and funding for devolved public services in Wales. The House then held Second Reading of the Social Housing Bill, debating reforms to Right to Buy, protections for domestic abuse survivors, and measures to support social housing delivery. The Bill was read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.

Detailed Summary

Opening formalities

The Duke of Wellington and Lord Cromwell took the oath and signed the Code of Conduct undertaking. Lord Forsyth announced the death of Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale: “I regret to inform the House of the death of the noble Baroness”.

Sovereign AI Fund – Question

Lord Clement‑Jones asked how the Sovereign AI Fund would support sovereign AI infrastructure and reduce dependence on foreign hyperscale cloud providers. Baroness Lloyd of Effra said the fund would back early‑stage UK start‑ups and “is not designed to replace foreign cloud providers” but to “reduce our strategic dependence”. She said commercialisation work is under way so government can be an early customer of strategically important UK start‑ups. She listed five priority areas, including “compute efficiency and sovereign architecture” and “AI for trust, integrity and assurance”, and noted CMA action on cloud competition and licensing. On copyright, she confirmed companies supported by the fund must comply with UK law: “Companies supported by the sovereign AI fund are expected to comply with applicable UK law, including copyright”. On open‑source models, she could not give a definitive government view and observed there are “many merits and disbenefits” from a cyber‑security perspective. No decisions were sought; next steps involve ongoing commercialisation and early‑stage development.

For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers – Question

Lord Strasburger asked which government departments had not yet implemented the Supreme Court judgment. Baroness Smith of Malvern said departments are reviewing and updating policies and guidance and that “We expect all duty bearers to follow the law”. She added, in response to NHS examples, “Of course it is the case that the NHS should be obeying the law” and further guidance would follow. She said the code provides “practical and sensible examples” for implementation, agreed to write with litigation figures, and stated departments “are working to ensure that they are complying with the law”. She underlined that Equality Act safeguards for gender reassignment remain and that determining sex by appearance “would not necessarily be straightforward or appropriate”. No formal decisions were taken; further guidance and monitoring were indicated.

Business Hiring – Question

Lord Hunt of Wirral sought the Government’s assessment of hiring intentions and impacts on the economy. Baroness Lloyd of Effra said the labour market and economy remain resilient, citing that “there are 416,000 more people in work than a year ago” and that over 80% of firms intend to maintain or increase staff in June 2026. In discussion of youth NEETs, payroll reductions, and hiring costs, she set out measures on youth employment, the modern industrial strategy and reforms to the apprenticeship levy, noted NICs reliefs for young employees and apprentices, and committed to consult on guaranteed‑hours rules and hiring payments for young apprentices. No new decisions were announced.

Devolved Public Services (Wales) – Question

Lord Wigley asked about discussions with the newly elected Welsh Government on funding devolved public services. Lord Katz reported introductory calls with the new First Minister and an offer to meet in person in June. On transport, he said the UK Government agreed “a £14 billion plan for the future of Welsh rail” and funding is already delivering stations and better services. He sought clarity on the M4 relief road proposals and noted the fiscal framework’s needs‑based factor, with Wales receiving “over 20% more per person” than equivalent UK spending. He outlined intergovernmental structures for ongoing engagement, said HS2 capacity could benefit north Wales, and set out positions on the Crown Estate board role and policing reforms. No decisions were taken; meetings and continued dialogue were the next steps.

Lord Speaker’s statement (sub judice)

Before the Private Notice Question, the Lord Speaker reminded Members not to refer to a concurrent Scottish criminal case: the specific case “remains sub judice” with sentencing due on 23 June.

Donations to Political Parties – Private Notice Question

Lord Foulkes asked about plans to tighten rules on party donations. Baroness Taylor of Stevenage said the Government are legislating to tighten who can donate, strengthen checks and transparency, cap donations from overseas electors and introduce a moratorium on crypto‑asset donations, acting on the Rycroft review. She stressed that public funds must be properly monitored and audited: “It is important that any money spent from the public purse is spent in a way that commands the confidence of the public”. She emphasised a cap on donations by overseas electors and that recipients must undertake checks, and said donors will be required to declare connected benefits or sources of funding, with criminal liability for false declarations. She confirmed donations from Ireland are permitted in some circumstances and anticipated amendments as the Bill proceeds. No division occurred; scrutiny will continue as the Bill progresses.

First Readings

Two House of Lords Bills were introduced and read a first time. The Lobbying Transparency (In‑house Lobbyists) Bill [HL] would amend the 2014 Act “to include in‑house lobbyists”, and “was introduced by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town, read a first time and ordered to be printed”. The Nature’s Rights Bill [HL], to recognise nature as a legal subject and establish related rights and governance, “was introduced by Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, read a first time and ordered to be printed”. Next stages were not stated in the transcript.

Built Environment Committee – Membership Motions

The Senior Deputy Speaker moved a series of membership and appointment motions, including to the Built Environment Select Committee, the panel of Deputy Chairmen of Committees and the POST Board; the House agreed: “Motions agreed”. Appointees included Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, Baroness Gill, Baroness Hyde of Bemerton, Baroness Rafferty, Lord Lisvane, Lord Mair, Baroness Nargund, Lord Barber of Chittlehampton and Lord John of Southwark.

Middle East: Economic Response – Statement and questions

A Statement first made in the Commons on 21 May set out measures to support families and businesses in response to the Middle East situation. Headline measures included readiness to act on energy bills, a £350m critical chemicals resilience fund and £120m for ceramics, a 12‑month HGV road‑tax holiday, a red‑diesel duty cut and a 10p per mile rise in tax‑free mileage rates, and tax changes to foreign branch profits. There would be no fuel‑duty rise: “I can confirm today that there will be no rise in fuel duty this year”; tariffs on over 100 foods would be suspended; regulators would get tougher powers; buses would be free for children in August; and a temporary VAT cut on summer attractions and children’s meals would apply over the school holidays. In Lords scrutiny, Lord Livermore highlighted recent growth and fiscal metrics, said the foreign branch profits reforms would raise “hundreds of millions of pounds a year”, and described tariff suspensions as temporary. He said the defence investment plan would be published “shortly” and rejected price caps. Back‑bench questions covered institutions, youth schemes, small modular reactors—“signed with Rolls‑Royce… in north Wales”—GDP per capita, fertiliser supply risks, the cost of free buses for children (around £100m for one month), the red‑diesel duty cut (to its lowest level for over 20 years, until end‑2026), and maximising domestic oil and gas tiebacks. Measures form part of ongoing policy implementation; no new decisions were taken in the Lords.

Social Housing Bill [HL] – Second Reading

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage introduced the Bill to protect and grow social housing, strengthen tenant protections—especially for domestic abuse survivors—and remove barriers to delivery. She said Right to Buy had too often depleted stock and that the Bill would “increase the eligibility period from three years of tenancy to 10 years” and introduce a “35‑year exemption for new‑build homes”. It would require disposal notifications to help keep homes in the sector, strengthen domestic‑abuse protections in joint tenancies, repeal unimplemented provisions (e.g., high‑value sales) and streamline consents. Debate focused on the balance between protecting stock and promoting home ownership, the case for rural exemptions, and the need for estate regeneration and upgrading of existing stock (including damp, mould and cladding remediation). Supporters welcomed measures such as the 35‑year exemption and an indefinite right of first refusal to retain stock. Winding up, the Minister said that, compared with a projected net loss of 26,000 homes (2026–2036) under the pre‑reform baseline, implementation of the Bill would produce “a net gain of around 18,000 homes” over the same period. She stressed the Bill retains Right to Buy but makes it more sustainable, noted that 88% of social housing lead tenants are UK nationals, and clarified that Clause 9 streamlines administration while councils retain 100% of receipts. Outcome: “Bill read a second time” and committed to a Committee of the Whole House; the order of consideration was agreed.