UK Parliament: What’s happened this year, and what can we expect when Parliament returns in September?

BASW's Public & Political Affairs Lead, Kerri Prince rounds-up the year at Westminster and looks ahead to the final parliamentary session before the General Election.

The UK Parliament has gone into recess for the summer, and MPs will return in September for two months before the end of the parliamentary session later this autumn.

Looking back

The main focus of this year has been the Illegal Migration Act which was given royal assent last week. This Act makes changes to immigration law, including changes to processes for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. BASW will publish a detailed briefing on the Act and what this means for social workers in the next few weeks.

The Bill of Rights introduced to Parliament in June 2022 was ultimately withdrawn in June 2023 after the resignation of Dominic Rabb as Justice Secretary.

BASW UK has been firm in our opposition to both the Illegal Migration Act and the Bill of Rights, and we have worked with coalitions of organisations in opposing these pieces of legislation. We are pleased that the Bill of Rights has been dropped, but remain concerned at the piecemeal destruction of human rights through other pieces of legislation.

The Draft Mental Health Bill was published by the Government and we submitted written evidence to the joint committee of MPs and Lords who were tasked with scrutinising the draft bill. We were invited to give oral evidence to the committee, for which the Chief Executive Dr Ruth Allen attended on behalf of BASW. The Government is yet to respond to the report produced by the joint committee, but is expected to bring in a Mental Health Bill next year.

The Renters Reform Bill was introduced in May, which seeks to change the law about rented homes including abolishing some types of rental contracts, banning no fault evictions, and imposing obligations on landlords.  Due to late introduction of the Bill during this parliamentary session, it will likely need to be carried over to the next session.

Beyond legislation, BASW has been raising other issues in the UK Parliament including:

  • Anti-poverty
  • Mileage rates
  • Ukraine and the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme
  • Student bursaries
  • Homes not hospitals
  • Recruitment and retention

Moving forward

King Charles will open Parliament on 7th November with the ‘Kings Speech’, which will outline the Government’s priorities for the year ahead.

This will be the final parliamentary session before the next General Election, which means it is likely there will be contentious pieces of legislation designed to ‘address the issues of the day’. Examples of where the Government has done this include the Illegal Migration Act in which the Government wished to be seen to address the issue of small boats entering the UK. This may also bring about some positive Bills on issues making headlines, such as housing.

There will be an Autumn Statement in the weeks following the State Opening of Parliament, in which the Chancellor will outline the Government’s fiscal plans for the year ahead. This statement will be delivered with the knowledge that a General Election is due within the next year and will likely be delivered to be as palatable to the widest number of voters possible.

BASW continuously seeks opportunities to influence the Government, as well as opposition parties, to advocate for social workers and the social work profession. Political parties will start pulling together their manifestos and vision for the country in the coming months, and before January 2025 there will be a General Election where UK voters will decide on their next Government.

If you have any questions about BASW UK’s political work, you can contact our Public and Political Affairs Lead Kerri.Prince@basw.co.uk