Lords Debates AI Safeguards, Gender Care and Constitutional Reform

High-Level Summary

The House of Lords considered procedural flexibility for scrutiny of artificial intelligence (AI), public procurement, unpaid carers, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) supply and a PHP cyber-security vulnerability. It also received two introductions, gave a First Reading to the Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill and considered a Commons Statement on antisemitism in schools and colleges. Three substantive debates examined AI and children, consent and research concerning puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, and proposals for a written constitution. The motions on AI and children and on a written constitution were agreed, and the House adjourned at 6.27 pm.

Detailed Summary

Introductions: Lord Petterson and Baroness Garnham

Mark Edward Petterson was introduced as Baron Petterson, of Shenington in the County of Oxfordshire, took the oath, was supported by Lord Newby and Lord German, and signed an undertaking to abide by the Code of Conduct: “was introduced and took the oath”. Alison Esther Garnham was introduced as Baroness Garnham, of Stoke Newington in the London Borough of Hackney, made the solemn affirmation, was supported by Baroness Sherlock and Baroness Lister of Burtersett, and signed an undertaking to abide by the Code of Conduct. No further proceedings were stated.

Procedural flexibility for scrutiny of AI and emerging technology

Lord Nagaraju asked whether the Procedure and Privileges Committee (PPC) should introduce more flexible arrangements for fast-moving policy areas and proposed a protected weekly AI session of up to 30 minutes. Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede referred to existing procedures, including topical Oral Questions, Private Notice Questions, Questions for Written Answer and repeated Urgent Questions, and said: “The Procedure and Privileges Committee has not discussed scrutiny of AI and emerging technology”. He undertook to draw Lord Nagaraju’s proposal to the PPC’s attention, while noting that dedicated time for one policy area would have to be weighed against other demands on the House’s time.

Members also raised training for Members and staff, the range of expertise in the House, sitting times, the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ report on AI and human rights, international regulation and possible legislative reform. Lord Ponsonby confirmed that the PHP-related security flaw had been fixed, based on the Clerk of the Parliaments’ indication. He said he would bring Baroness Harman’s specific proposal for a joint committee on AI to the PPC’s attention. The consultation on 1 pm starts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays had received 360 responses and was due to close at 5 pm on 13 November.

Public procurement: prioritising British suppliers

Lord Spellar asked how World Trade Organization rules and European Union regulations affected the Government’s ability to prioritise British suppliers. Baroness Twycross said that new guidance on steel transparency and the national security exemption, together with a revised social value model, was intended to support jobs, skills and local communities while complying with international agreements: “We are changing public procurement to work harder for Britain”. She said further guidance would be published in the near future.

Members questioned preferences for British manufacturers, food standards and country-of-origin rules, contract transparency, local-government procurement, support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and national-security procurement. Baroness Twycross undertook to investigate country-of-origin rules and write to Baroness McIntosh, and to look into Lord Pack’s claim about unpublished public contracts. She said pilots with mayoral strategic authorities would precede the new social-value approach, due to come into force on 1 January, and that SMEs were expected to receive more than £7.4 billion of government money a year by 2028.

Cross-Government Carers Action Plan

Baroness Hyde of Bemerton said the Government would publish annual progress updates, meet unpaid carers annually, refresh the plan, establish an unpaid carers champion and provide quarterly oversight through a cross-government ministerial group: “The Government want the action plan to deliver lasting change for unpaid carers and their families”. Questions covered the champion’s role, respite care, young carers, accountability following the proposed abolition of NHS England, carer’s allowance and dementia. The Minister said the champion’s role was still being established, while local authorities already had duties under the Care Act to assess carers’ needs and meet eligible needs.

The Minister said the plan’s priorities were to recognise carers, refer them to appropriate support and help them reach their potential, with particular attention to young carers. The champion’s appointment and integration with existing work would be announced in due course, and the Minister undertook to write about a possible taper to carer’s allowance and its timetable. She also said that a dementia tsar was due to start in December and that the champion’s role would help link relevant areas of support.

Hormone replacement therapy product shortage

Baroness Merron said that most of the 70 HRT products available in the UK remained in good supply, with three affected and alternatives available. The Government had expedited deliveries, issued National Health Service guidance and introduced serious shortage protocols allowing pharmacists to supply alternatives without returning to prescribers. Members asked about future supply resilience, medicines security, affordability, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities, vaginal dryness and variation in clinical advice.

The Minister said an update on action to strengthen medicines supply chains would be published later in the year. She described medicines security as a priority and said the significant HRT supply pressures of 2022 had been contained. She referred to the HRT prescription prepayment certificate, costing £19.80 for a year, and said prescription charges for those who paid had been held below £10. She also referred to an updated medical licensing assessment, support for general practitioners to develop their skills and the inclusion of menopause in NHS health checks.

Cyber security: PHP vulnerability

In a Private Notice Question, Lord Dixon of Jericho asked about the impact of the PHP vulnerability identified in the National Cyber Security Centre alert of 21 October 2026. Baroness Lloyd of Effra said departments had been warned before public disclosure and had prepared mitigations; the principal impact on government digital services had so far arisen from precautionary measures while updates were applied. She later reported that 32 government services were unavailable and four were partially unavailable, with restoration to follow safe remediation.

Members asked about the Government’s response, the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill, incident-reporting duties for public bodies, the effect on SMEs, accountability for national cyber resilience and risks to education. The Minister said the National Cyber Security Centre had been briefed by OpenAI the previous week and had co-ordinated disclosure with vendors. She said the Government were not aware of any confirmed compromise of central government systems, and that the Bill would bring managed service providers within its scope and include requirements for critical patching. A national cyber action plan was intended to set out the whole-of-government approach to cyber security and resilience.

Church Appointments (Repeal of Discriminatory Provision) Bill: First Reading

The Bill was brought from the House of Commons, read a first time and ordered to be printed: “The Bill was brought from the Commons, read a first time and ordered to be printed”. No further proceedings or next stage were stated in the transcript.

Antisemitism in schools and colleges

The House considered a Statement made in the House of Commons on 21 October 2026 concerning Sir David Bell’s review of antisemitism in schools and colleges in England. The Government accepted all 27 recommendations, including adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition, strengthening safeguarding guidance, recording antisemitic incidents as a specific category, providing training and resources, and improving Holocaust and Jewish history education. An implementation group had been established and Sir David Bell had been asked to conduct a one-year review of implementation.

Members sought firmer enforcement, clarification of teachers’ duties of political impartiality, action concerning the National Education Union’s position on the definition, greater Ofsted scrutiny, national data and funding. Baroness Smith of Malvern said teachers had a responsibility to tackle antisemitism and that the impartiality guidance would be reviewed. She said the Government would work with Ofsted and the Independent Schools Inspectorate on possible thematic work examining how schools and colleges identify, prevent and respond to antisemitism. She said the expectation was that incidents would be recorded and acted on, and that the Government would consider national reporting. She also cited £7 million already made available to tackle antisemitism in schools and colleges.

AI, screen usage and social media: effect on children

Lord Patel opened a take-note debate on the effects of AI, screen use and social media on children. Members identified educational, creative, accessibility and social benefits, alongside concerns about addictive design, sleep, mental health, cyberbullying, grooming, sexual abuse material, self-harm, financial harms, extremist recruitment and reduced independent thinking. Lord Patel cited concerns about conversational AI systems that had “formed emotionally significant relationships with ‘vulnerable’ young users”. Other Members called for safety by design, evidence before educational technology was procured, teacher and parent training, digital inclusion, stronger regulation and, in some cases, a Prime Ministerial commission on AI.

Members differed over blanket restrictions on social media. Some supported restrictions for under-16s, while others argued for risk-based ratings and safety-by-design duties and warned about circumvention, less regulated spaces and digital inclusion. Baroness Lloyd of Effra said the Government were consulting on safety certification for educational technology, had published support materials for teachers and were developing a digital and data skills pathway. She confirmed that regulations on the social-media restriction would be laid by the end of 2026 and take effect from spring 2027, alongside restrictions on livestreaming, unknown-adult contact and harmful features for 16- and 17-year-olds. She also said that the Government would ban chatbots offering sexualised content to under-18s, introduce mandatory breaks in chatbot use and use delegated powers to bring currently unregulated chatbot services within the Online Safety Act’s illegal-content duties. The motion was agreed.

Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones: consent and research

Baroness Deech asked at what age an individual could consent to puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, focusing on the PATHWAYS trial and the application of Gillick competence. She questioned whether children could understand long-term risks involving bone health, fertility, sexual function, brain maturation and cardiovascular effects, and challenged the inclusion of children as young as 11 and 12. Other Members opposed the trial or sought further evidence and safeguards. Baroness Cass and Baroness Murphy supported a tightly regulated research approach for a small group with persistent gender incongruence, emphasising assent, parental consent, multidisciplinary assessment, psychosocial support and follow-up.

Baroness Merron said the Government were implementing the Cass Review and moving children’s gender services towards holistic psychosocial care, with medical intervention not the standard approach. She confirmed that puberty-suppressing hormones were not available for routine commissioning after evidence reviews found insufficient evidence on safety, risks, benefits and outcomes. The PATHWAYS trial had been approved by the Health Research Authority and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency; its minimum participation age was 11 for biological females and 12 for biological males following review by the regulator and sponsor. Eligibility required individual assent, parental consent, a minimum two-year diagnosis of gender incongruence, ongoing psychosocial support, NHS clinician and multidisciplinary approval, understanding of risks and benefits, physical and mental stability, and compliance with safeguarding requirements. The consultation on routine commissioning of masculinising and feminising hormones remained under consideration. The debate ended without a decision being recorded.

Proposals for a written constitution

Lord Anderson of Ipswich opened a take-note debate on proposals for a written constitution. He outlined arguments for clarification, entrenchment and constitutional change, but argued that this was not the time to pursue a fully codified constitution. Instead, he proposed an authoritative restatement of existing arrangements, an updated Cabinet Manual acceptable to Parliament, statutory protection for certain constitutional watchdogs and greater weight for legislative standards. Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle and Lord Pack supported a written constitution, arguing that codification could improve clarity, constrain executive power and protect minorities; Lord Pack described it as providing “some grit in the system”.

Other Members raised concerns that codification could transfer power from elected politicians to judges, reduce flexibility, be difficult to agree across the United Kingdom and remain vulnerable to bad actors. The Government said they were open to codifying elements where there was a case, but did not support converting the UK’s uncodified arrangements into a single written document for its own sake. Baroness Twycross confirmed that an updated Cabinet Manual was well under way, that parliamentary Select Committees would be consulted and that publication was intended for early the following year. Lord Anderson said that suggestions concerning the Sewel convention, concordats, the House of Lords Appointments Commission and the Cabinet Manual deserved further thought. The motion was agreed.