The key bills that hang in the balance as parliament's 'wash-up' period gets under way

Rishi Sunak's decision to call a general election has kickstarted what is known as the "wash-up" period - the term used to describe the final days before parliament is formally dissolved.

It means the government will now try to progress any outstanding legislation with the aim of making it law before parliament is prorogued, and the current parliamentary session comes to an end, on Friday.

However, with such a limited timeframe, it is expected that a number of bills that have defined this parliamentary session are likely to fall by the wayside.

Sky News takes you through the key bills that are unlikely to make it into law.

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Football Governance

The government announced plans for an Independent Football Regulator (IFR) for the professional men's game following a review by Tory MP Tracey Crouch, launched after the attempt by some clubs to form the European Super League.

The measure was contained in the Football Governance Bill, which also would have introduced "stronger tests" for new owners and directors to "stop clubs falling into the wrong hands" as well as "backstop powers" to sort out the financial distribution between the Premier League and English Football League if they cannot come to an agreement themselves.

On Thursday morning Ms Crouch said the bill - which received broad support from both major parties - "will progress no further" and that she "won't be here to see it pass".

Leasehold and Freehold Reform

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, which has been championed by Michael Gove, promised to abolish leaseholds on new houses but not new flats, which make up 70% of leasehold properties.

Ministers claimed the legislation would stop "abuses" in the controversial system by making it easier and cheaper for people to extend their lease, buy the right to their freehold and gain the right to manage their block.

However, given that the bill is still at committee stage in the House of Lords, where peers will consider it in detail, it is unlikely to make the wash-up period.

Renters Reform

The Renters Reform Bill was intended to redress the power balance between renters and landlords, but has been mired in delay and controversy after the government pushed back some of its flagship proposals, including the ban on no-fault evictions.

First promised by the Tories five years ago, the ban was delayed indefinitely pending court reforms, in what was widely seen as a concession to landlords - prompting campaigners to accuse Mr Gove of "selling renters down the river".

Tom Darling, campaign manager at the Renters Reform Coalition, said: "If the government today confirm the Renters (Reform) Bill won't make it through the "wash-up'" process, the bill will fall due to the pending election and the task of fixing England's broken renting system will fall to the next government. After waiting five years for change, renters will have been badly let down."

Sentencing

The government's Sentencing Bill formed part of the King's Speech last autumn and contained provisions to give whole life orders to the worst murderers - including any that involve sexual or sadistic conduct - with only a judge able to choose not to impose the sentence in exceptional circumstances, and making those who commit rape or other serious sexual offences spend their entire sentence in jail.

Tobacco and vapes

A legacy-defining policy for Mr Sunak was his plan to raise the legal age to buy cigarettes annually in a bid to phase out smoking completely - something that was not popular with the libertarian wing of his party.

The proposal, outlined in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after 1 January 2009. The bill also would have seen restrictions placed on vaping products.

However, the bill was not mentioned by Commons leader Penny Mordaunt when she gave her business statement in the House this morning.

Bills that will get the green light

Victims and Prisoners

The Victims and Prisoners Bill will be made law after the Lords confirmed it was ready to grant Royal Assent - meaning the King is ready to agree to make the bill law.

Campaigners were pressing for the bill to be included as part of the wash-up because it contained within it provisions to establish a compensation body for victims of the infected blood scandal.

Finance Bill

The Finance Bill, which contains the government's taxation plans as laid out in the Budget, is expected to be ushered through parliament before it is prorogued on Friday.

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Media Bill

The aim of the Media Bill is to "support the creative industries and protect public interest journalism". This includes repealing a law requiring media outlets to pay all legal costs in libel cases, regardless of who won.

It is expected that the bill will form part of the wash-up, but there were rumblings of discontent in the House of Lords over the proposal to repeal section 40, which has been opposed by many media outlets, but which proponents say is crucial to the system of press regulation as proposed by Sir Brian Leveson in his inquiry.

The Labour frontbench in the Lords said they had agreed to the legislation being included in the wash-up.

Post Office

The government put forward the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill as a way to begin clearing the names of hundreds of wronged branch managers who were caught up in the IT scandal.

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The legislation will exonerate those convicted in England and Wales on the basis of the faulty Horizon accounting software provided they meet certain criteria, including that convictions were prosecuted by the Post Office or Crown Prosecution Service and they were for relevant offences such as theft, fraud and false accounting.

Digital Markets

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill will ban a practice known as price-dripping, where unavoidable hidden charges are levied against online consumers.

The government believes the additional fees must be included in the headline prices, affecting things such as train and cinema tickets but not optional fees including airline seats and luggage upgrades.