Four SPaG amendments were accepted, and have been applied to the Bill.

LB277 - Universal Basic Advent Calendar Bill - Final Division

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make provision for universal access to Advent calendars or alternatives for children, and for connected purposes

BE IT ENACTED by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Temporal and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Universal Basic Advent Calendar Scheme

(1) There shall be a Universal Basic Advent Calendar Scheme, to be administered by HM Government.

(2) The Secretary of State shall apportion the necessary funding required for the Scheme.

2 Scheme

(1) All children resident in England between the ages of three and sixteen shall be eligible for—

(a) one Advent calendar meeting the requirements in section 3, or
(b) an alternative, as defined in section 4.

(2) For greater clarity, parents, guardians or the child themselves (if they have attained the age of thirteen) shall be responsible for opting-in to the Scheme.

(3) The Scheme shall send an advent calendar or an alternative once per year to every child who has signed up for the Scheme as soon as possible, preferably before the 28th of November.

(4) In this Act, "Scheme" means the Universal Basic Advent Calendar Scheme established under subsection (1) of section 1.

3 Advent calendar requirements

(1) Advent calendars provided under the Scheme must—

(a) not have religious imagery or symbolism, with exception to vague and secularised references such as references to 'Christmas';
(b) have chocolate or a toy, but not both; and
(c) have educational facts, preferably related to the theme of the Advent calendar.

(2) The Scheme must provide, at minimum, the options of Advent calendars with—

(a) dark chocolate,
(b) milk chocolate,
(c) white chocolate,
(d) various Christmas themed toys, and
(e) various animal themed toys.

(3) Chocolate provided under the Scheme shall be required to be certified by the Secretary of State as ethical, and the Secretary of State must have regard to the desirability of using chocolate from cocoa farms owned by the cocoa farmers themselves entirely as a co-operative.

(4) In this Act, "Advent calendar" means a rectangular card with small numbered flaps ("doors"), which when opened reveal both an item under subsection (2) and a small, appropriate and topical image (e.g. a picture of a planet for a space themed Advent calendar).

4 Alternatives

(1) The Secretary of State shall also provide the following as alternatives—

(a) a bag of confectionary equal in weight to the chocolate provided under subsection (2) of section 3, or
(b) the number of 110g milk, dark, or white chocolate bars that are closest in weight to the chocolate provided under subsection (2) of section 3.

(2) Requirements for ethical chocolate under subsection (3) of section 3 apply to chocolate used for alternatives.

5 Distribution

Advent calendars and alternatives under the Scheme shall be distributed through—

(a) the places set by subsection (3) of section 2 of the National Food Service Act 2022 (c. 57); and
(b) any retailer that sells food, which has a floor area used for making retail sales exceeding 280 square metres.

6 Commencement

(1) This Act comes into effect on the 1st September 2024.

(2) For clarity, this does not mean that Advent calendars must begin being distributed on that date.

7 Short title

(1) This Act may be cited as the Universal Basic Advent Calendar Act.

8 Extent

(1) This Act extends to England only.

This bill was written by the Most Honourable Lady /u/model-avtron, Marchioness Hebrides LT CT PC MSP MLA MS, as a Private Member's Bill. It was inspired by the Universal Basic Bunny Bill.

Opening Speech:

My Lords,

Christmas. It is a time of great celebration, yet many simply cannot afford to properly enjoy themselves or, very sadly, their children.

This is a tragedy. And whilst government after government has attempted to tackle this, and even though we have a marvellous system of Basic Income, more can still be done to indulge England's children.

An Advent calendar is an icon of Christmas for many. That's why every child who wants one should have access to one. This Bill does that, sets out ethical requirements for chocolate, and ensures that for those who don't want an Advent calendar for whatever reason can still get a bit of chocolate or a bag of sweets to enjoy the festive period.

My Lords, merry early Christmas to you all, and I commend this bill.

Lords may vote either Content, Not Content or Present to the Bill.

This Division ends on the 13th of December at 10PM GMT.