Lords Debates Voting Reform Amid Earned Settlement Plans

High-Level Summary

The House of Lords dealt with formal business, Oral Questions on cultural infrastructure, national resilience, social security and school enrichment, and approved two statutory instruments. It completed Third Reading of the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill, which was returned to the Commons with amendments. Committee scrutiny began on the Representation of the People Bill, covering votes at 16, devolved electoral franchises, registration without application and electoral administration; several amendments were withdrawn or not moved, while other debates were adjourned. The House also considered the Government’s earned-settlement policy, including proposed settlement routes for workers and refugees and the expected implementation timetable.

Detailed Summary

Formal business and introductions

Baroness Aglionby and Baroness Kitching of Penistone were introduced, made the solemn affirmation and signed undertakings to abide by the Code of Conduct. Royal Assent was notified for the Sovereign Grant Act. Lord Forsyth of Drumlean announced that Lord Shipley would retire with effect from 31 October and thanked him for his service: “I thank the noble Lord for his much-valued service to the House.”

Nationally significant cultural institutions: capital maintenance

Baroness Fraser of Craigmaddie asked what support would be available for nationally significant cultural institutions facing substantial capital maintenance costs, referring to the Royal Opera House and wider concerns about theatre taxation and business rates. Baroness Dacres of Lewisham said that £1.5 billion was being invested to address the capital needs of cultural organisations across England, and that the Royal Opera House had been awarded £5 million for urgent conservation and structural repair: “Fit-for-purpose infrastructure is vital to that success.”

Peers also raised longer-term capital needs, regional devolution, Covid loan repayments, skills shortages, opera touring, and funding for cathedrals and churches. The Minister referred to the £425 million creative foundations fund, said organisations in severe financial difficulty could discuss repayment schedules with the Arts Council as a last resort, and referred to heritage apprenticeships and more than £230 million for heritage buildings. On skills, she said: “We have specialist heritage apprenticeships and national arts education pipelines.” The Minister did not agree to write off Covid loans or commit to restoring a UK-wide listed places of worship grant scheme in the answers recorded.

Defence spending and national resilience

Lord John of Southwark asked about progress and outcomes from the Government’s national conversation on defence spending and resilience. Lord Coaker said it was intended to build public understanding of threats and a whole-of-society approach, with outcomes including a public-awareness campaign, engagement with industry and local partners, stronger preparedness and refreshed national defence planning: “The national conversation on defence and resilience is now under way across government.”

Peers questioned public understanding of cyber attacks, trade disruption and misinformation, and called for a coherent plan aimed particularly at younger people. The Minister referred to the Be Ready campaign, more than 500 organisations supporting distribution of advice, and the use of social media. He said the Chancellor intended to launch a consultation and review on attracting additional finance for defence spending. He also described work with devolved Administrations, local resilience forums, schools, voluntary organisations and communities. He could not confirm that the proposed reorganisation of reserve forces and cadet associations would be dropped, but said that protections for regional and devolved-Administration representation had been discussed.

Personal Independence Payment and Universal Credit

Baroness Spielman asked about recent trends in claims for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit. Baroness Sherlock said the Government wanted social security to support people who could work while protecting those with the most severe needs. She referred to changes to Universal Credit, the right to try, employment support and action on fraud and error, and said that the rise in economic inactivity due to long-term sickness had begun to level off: “that rise has finally levelled off.”

Peers raised online advice encouraging fraudulent claims, the effect of reforms on disabled people and people with learning disabilities, home working, and the effectiveness of benefit cuts. The Minister referred to a forthcoming code of practice for claims-management companies and the “Don’t pay to claim” campaign. She said that the Timms review of PIP and the Milburn review of young people and inactivity would report during the month, after which the Government would respond and legislate in the new year. In response to a question about the evidence-led decision-making trial, she did not commit to delaying expansion pending a specific published assessment of its effect on people with learning disabilities; she said that evaluations intended for publication would be issued at the appropriate time.

Sporting and performing arts opportunities in state schools

Lord Addington asked how pupils in state schools would gain access to sport and performing arts through partnerships with voluntary and community organisations. Baroness Smith of Malvern referred to an enrichment framework, an expansion programme for 400 schools in areas of greatest need, physical education and school sport partnerships, and the National Centre for Arts Education. She said these activities supported well-being, belonging, confidence and teamwork: “Our enrichment framework encourages schools to work in partnership with them.”

Peers discussed everyday physical activity, the Young Creatives Commission, council-owned facilities, the Holiday Activities and Food programme, VAT on small specialist independent schools, renewal of the Opening School Facilities programme and the effect of the English Baccalaureate on arts subjects. The Minister described the Daily Mile as an example of the type of partnership the Government wanted to promote, said that work by the Young Creatives Commission would inform joint work by the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and said she would take back concerns about Holiday Activities and Food eligibility without committing to change the rules. She also described the National Centre for Arts Education’s proposed national leadership, teacher-development and progression work.

Secondary legislation and Cyber Security and Resilience Bill

The House approved the Renewables Obligation and Electricity Capacity (Amendment) (British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme Excluded Electricity) Regulations 2026 and the Licensing Act 2003 (Permitted Temporary Activities) (Amendment) Order 2026; the transcript records “Motion agreed.” for each instrument.

The Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill received Third Reading. Four technical drafting amendments moved by Baroness Lloyd of Effra were agreed. Lord Clement-Jones and Lord Alton of Liverpool supported a regime-wide effectiveness review agreed on Report, which was to be considered by the Commons during parliamentary “ping-pong”; Baroness Neville-Jones also asked that factors relevant to incident reporting be addressed in secondary legislation at an early stage. The Bill was returned to the Commons with amendments: “Bill passed and returned to the Commons with amendments.”

Representation of the People Bill: voting age and associated safeguards

The first day of Committee considered the Bill’s proposed extension of the franchise to 16 and 17 year-olds in UK elections and related safeguards. Lord Udny-Lister argued for retaining an alignment between the voting and candidacy ages, a referendum, an assessment of risks from disinformation and foreign interference, and parliamentary approval before commencement. He described the proposed extension as a major constitutional change affecting 1.7 million additional people: “this represents a major constitutional change.” Lord Murphy of Torfaen and Lord Wallace of Saltaire supported votes at 16, citing the Government’s manifesto commitment, experience in Scotland and Wales, and the possibility of establishing lifelong voting habits. Baroness Taylor of Stevenage said: “We believe that 16 is the right age to be able to exercise your democratic right.”

Other Peers questioned the choice of 16 rather than 17, the relationship with other age limits, peer pressure, access to political content online and the position of Northern Ireland. Baroness Lister of Burtersett and Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle raised the position of convicted children in secure children’s homes. The Minister said the existing restriction on voting by people convicted and serving a custodial sentence should apply consistently, while offering to write or meet to discuss the effect on children living alongside eligible peers. The Minister rejected the proposed referendum, maintained that additional statutory requirements would delay implementation in Northern Ireland, and described work with the Electoral Commission, devolved Governments and civil society on civic and voter education. Lord Udny-Lister withdrew Amendment 1; Amendments 2, 3 and 4 were not moved, and Clause 1 was agreed.

Representation of the People Bill: devolved electoral franchises

Lord Frost proposed making the franchise for statutory elections, referendums and polls uniform across the UK, apart from City of London ward elections, and reserving the matter to Westminster. He argued that divergent franchises created administrative complexity and constitutional problems, and said: “The rights that people have as electors should be the same for everyone.” Lord Jackson of Peterborough supported the amendments on grounds of consistency, voter understanding and differing nationality rules in Scotland and Wales.

Lord Murphy of Torfaen, Lord Wigley, Lord Deben, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle and Baroness Smith of Llanfaes opposed the amendments as contrary to devolution, arguing that devolved legislatures should decide how their own elections operate. The Government opposed the amendments and defended the devolution settlements. Lord Frost withdrew Amendment 5; Amendments 6 and 7 were not moved, and Clause 2 was agreed. The transcript does not record a separate decision on Amendments 30 and 31.

Representation of the People Bill: young attainers and registration without application

The Committee considered registration of young attainers from age 14 and the wider move towards registration without application. Lord Fuller argued that registration at 15 would be sufficient and proposed consideration of issuing National Insurance numbers at 14 to help authenticate young voters and identify duplicate registrations. Baroness Lister of Burtersett, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle and Lord Rennard supported faster progress towards registration without application, citing an estimated 7 million to 8 million people who were unregistered or incorrectly registered. Baroness Lister referred to the Electoral Commission’s call for the Government to introduce automated systems quickly.

Other Peers sought safeguards concerning nationality, immigration status, duplicate registration, student registration, data quality, privacy, costs and boundary reviews. Lord Wilson of Sedgefield said that electoral registration officers must be satisfied that a person was eligible, including any relevant nationality and immigration-status requirements: “EROs must be satisfied that a person is entitled to be registered to vote before they are registered without an application.” He said pilots would precede wider implementation, rejected statutory requirements for a minimum number of datasets or a fixed deadline, and said that further regulations and information about the pilots would follow. Lord Fuller withdrew Amendment 8; Amendment 9 was not moved, and Clause 3 was agreed. Clauses 4 to 6 were also agreed.

Earned settlement immigration policy

Lord Collins of Highbury repeated the Government Statement on earned settlement. The proposal would make settlement depend on contribution and responsibilities rather than time alone: “Settlement should not be automatic; it should be earned.” The Statement set out disqualifying criteria including a criminal record, insufficient English, unpaid debt to the taxpayer and fewer than three years of National Insurance contributions. It proposed three-year routes for certain highest earners and talent schemes, five-year routes for higher earners and specified public-service roles, and a standard 10-year route for others.

The policy included transitional arrangements for qualifying care workers and some public-sector workers who had arrived before the May 2025 immigration White Paper, while offering another five-year care visa to some workers who had not met their original conditions. Refugees arriving through safe and legal routes would have a five-year route; other refugees would generally face 20 years, with a further 10 years for those entering by an illegal method such as small boats, subject to a 10-year reduction for work or study. Lord Davies of Gower criticised the transitional arrangements and their fiscal implications. Lord Foster of Bath welcomed some changes to retrospective treatment but questioned the effect on people who had planned around a five-year route, while Baroness Lister of Burtersett and Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle raised concerns about uncertainty, integration, child poverty and the refugee provisions. The Minister said more than 500,000 people were expected to settle later, rejected the description of the changes as retrospective because the rules would apply when settlement was sought, and said the first stage would begin in December and take effect in January 2027, with further changes in 2027 and 2028 and a full impact assessment before implementation.

Representation of the People Bill: further registration safeguards and electoral administration

After the immigration statement, the Committee resumed consideration of voter registration and then began debate on amendments concerning safeguards for under-16s, local-election count timing, electronic voting pilots, flexible voting and undue influence. Baroness Coffey questioned why registration officers could not make house-to-house inquiries concerning under-16s. Lord Jackson proposed supervised voting-machine pilots with a paper audit trail and raised the timing of local counts. Lord Rennard and Baroness Thornhill supported pilots of advance, weekend, hub and mobile voting to address practical barriers; Baroness Thornhill argued that local returning officers should retain discretion over count timing because staffing, geography and other pressures vary.

The debate also addressed protection against coercion and undue religious or community influence. Baroness Thornhill said: “The ballot paper belongs to an individual voter, and the choice belongs to that individual voter.” No decision was reached on the amendments under debate during the sitting. Lord Wilson of Sedgefield moved that debate be adjourned, and the transcript records: “Debate on Amendment 10 adjourned.” The House adjourned at 10.01 pm.