Georgina Hutton

This briefing paper sets out the background to the UK Internal Market Bill. This Bill received its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 14 September 2020 and was considered in Committee of the Whole House between 15 and 22 September. The remaining Commons stages took place on 29 September. The Bill will now go to the House of Lords for consideration.

The Eat Out to Help Out Scheme is one of the Government's economic recovery measures to support businesses reopening following the COVID-19 lockdown. The Scheme aims to help protect jobs in the hospitality sector by encouraging consumers to eat out. Questions have been raised about whether the Scheme was introduced before it was clear whether consumer demand was a factor limiting business recovery.

The Planning for the Future white paper published in August 2020, setting out the Government's proposals for "once in a generation" reform of England's planning system, has proved controversial. This briefing from the House of Commons Library examines those proposals and the other planning changes already made during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Chancellor will make a statement to the House on Wednesday 8 July. He will outline plans to support the economy. The Chancellor’s statement is being labelled as a ‘summer economic update’.

There will be an Estimates Day debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday 7 July 2020.

This Library Paper has been prepared for the Commons stages of the Business and Planning Bill 2019-21 on 29 June 2020.

On Thursday 25 June 2020, there will be a debate in the House of Commons on a number of e-petitions relating to support for UK industries in response to Covid-19. The subject for the debate was determined by the Petitions Committee. Theresa Villiers MP, will open the debate.

This Commons Library briefing paper outlines the measures introduced by the Government, and other authorities, to support household finances during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

R&D spending in the UK. Including analysis of R&D by region and industry, and international comparisons of R&D.

The Government's Loneliness Strategy was published in October 2018. It set out a wide variety of cross-departmental measures that the Government would take to provide 'national leadership' to tackle loneliness in England. As well as explaining the Strategy and the steps taken so far by the Government, this briefing also looks at research into the causes and impact of loneliness and possible interventions. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on loneliness is also considered, alongside the measures introduced by the Government in response. Finally, this paper briefly outlines the situation in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This briefing paper provides an overview of the economic regulation of the water industry in England and Wales. It provides an overview of the price review process that sets customer bills and water company service targets every 5-years. It includes a summary of the 2019 price review that followed increasing public scrutiny of the sector.

The tables in this paper provide a summary of the UK and EU positions in the future relationship negotiations, based on their proposed draft treaty texts and other publicly available statements

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill [Bill 128] was introduced in the House of Commons on 20 May 2020 and is expected to have its Second Reading on 3 June 2020.