Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to commit the Bill of Rights Bill to a Select Committee following its Second Reading and before consideration in Committee; and if he will make a statement.

The Bill of Rights delivers on the Government’s manifesto commitment to ‘update the Human Rights Act... to ensure there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government’.

The Government’s consultation on the Bill ran from 14 December 2021 to 19 April 2022 and received more than 12,800 responses. The Bill received its first reading on 22 June 2022 and the Second Reading will follow when Parliamentary time allows. On 22 June, the Deputy Prime Minister also made an Oral Statement on the Bill to the House. The Bill will be scrutinised fully in Parliamentary debates and will be subject to the usual scrutiny during its passage through the House. We have responded to proposals on the Bill from the Joint Committee on Human Rights. As such, we believe it is unnecessary for the Bill to be committed to a Select Committee.