Viewing guide: The pick of the week ahead in Parliament
Parliament has a mini half-term this week, with MPs sitting only on Monday and Tuesday, and peers lingering a day longer.
With the continuing drama in Europe there have been some voices (Tory awkward squaddie Peter Bone) suggesting they might have to be recalled to Westminster to debate the latest euro-trauma, but the Leader of the House, Sir George Young, points out that they normally need 48 hours' notice for a recall - so it's likely they'll have to wait until the week after, to discuss whatever events unfold.
But back to next week. Monday in the Commons begins (at 2.30pm) with defence questions, where new Secretary of State Phillip Hammond can expect questions on the decision to scrap the post of chief coroner, and the need to reinstate it to oversee inquests into deaths of armed forces personnel.
MPs then move on to consider their lordships' amendments to the Education Bill - there are 99 of them. There are changes relating to prohibition orders which allow the Education Secretary to ban teachers from teaching, and a host of other matters. At the end of business, Leeds MP Greg Mulholland will be putting his city's case for hosting the headquarters of the planned Green Investment Bank.
On the committee corridor, (at 2.15pm) the demon king of the political blogosphere, Paul Staines, aka Guido Fawkes is before the Privacy and Injunctions Committee along with bloggers Jamie East of "Holy Moly", David Allen Green, aka Jack of Kent, and Richard Wilson. Then it's the turn of Sir Christopher Meyer, the former chairman of the Press Complaints Commission - once derided as a "red-socked fop" in a select committee hearing. The Media Standards Trust, the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Index on Censorship also weigh in.
At 3.15pm the Public Accounts Committee examine why auditors qualified the accounts of Defra, the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Rural Payments Agency. They sent shudders through Whitehall this week, when they required a witness to take the oath... Will they repeat the trick with Bronwyn Hill, Defra's Permanent Secretary, and the other witnesses coming before them on this occasion?
The Commons Science and Technology Committee takes evidence from the Met and from crime and security minister James Brokenshire on the threat and risks of cyber attacks. That's at 4.15pm. And the Joint (i.e. peers and MPs) Committee on Lords Reform hears from the Electoral Reform Society and top academics in their inquiry into the government's proposals for reform of the upper house.
In the Lords (from 2.30pm) its day five on the detail of the Health and Social Care Bill - want to bet they'll need more than the planned 14 committee days? The key bone of contention will be a group of amendments on charities and VAT. And watch out for questions prompted by the release of the Department of Health's Strategic Risk Register, a document detailing possible risks to patient safety, finances and the working of the NHS from the bill's proposals.
Meanwhile, in grand committee (starting at 3.30pm) peers will be continuing their work on the Welfare Reform Bill - and should move on to one of the most important issues, the plans to replace Disability Living Allowance. There won't be votes at this stage, but the discussions could well result in amendments at report stage, some time in the New Year.
There's also a dinner-time debate on the competitiveness of the UK egg industry and the effect of EU directives on it.
Tuesday kicks off (no mere figure of speech, this) with questions (at 2.30pm) to the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, and his smoothly diplomatic deputy, Mark Harper. There are also questions to the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, and his team. That's followed by a Ten Minute Rule Bill on Metal Theft (Prevention) from Labour MP Graham Jones. Main business is a pair of backbench debates, first on fisheries and then on an e-petition calling for action to cut fuel prices. More than a hundred MPs from parties across the Commons have now signed the motion from Conservatives Robert Halfon and Martin Vickers calling for cuts in fuel duty.
The Commons day ends with an adjournment debate on the Independent Police Complaints Commission, led by Tottenham MP and former Labour minister David Lammy.
Meanwhile in Westminster Hall there are a series of short debates starting from 9.30am with one on the International Monetary Fund and the Eurozone crisis, led by the Conservative John Barron. This is worth watching, because Labour has taken the line that IMF money should not be used for eurozone bailouts - and that very issue could one day become the subject of another Conservative uprising (there was a notable one in July) - and if Labour is backed by Tory rebels, the government could be defeated.
Other subjects for debate: an East-West rail link between Bletchley and Oxford - raised by Milton Keynes MP Iain Stewart; the future of the UK aviation industry - Brian Donohoe; the effect of fraud on access to bank accounts - former Treasury Minister Stephen Timms; and the implications for Northumberland of proposed planning guidance - from Berwick upon Tweed Lib Dem veteran Sir Alan Beith.
It's a busy - and possibly politically crucial committee day. After Theresa May's doing over last week, around the shenanigans at the UK Border Agency and the controversial relaxation of border controls, the Home Affairs Committee take evidence from Brodie Clark, the official at the centre of the affair. That's at 11.30am. Rob Whiteman, the Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency and Damian Green, the Immigration Minister will also give evidence. As an appetiser, at 11am, the committee has a short session on the roots of radicalisation with witnesses from Universities UK and Federation of Student Islamic Societies.
Alastair Buchanan, boss of the energy regulator, Ofgem, will be before the Energy and Climate Change Committee at 10am to discuss his Annual Report. The focus will be on Ofgem's work in promoting quality and value for customers, its complaints handling and enforcement work and its proposals to make the energy market more competitive...
At 10.30am the Culture, Media and Sport Committee calms down after its recent excitements and puts preparations for London 2012 under the spotlight. Will London's transport infrastructure cope with the extra traffic from the Olympic and Paralympic Games? They will also be looking at the "legacy issues" i.e. the future use of the stadium and other facilities. Witnesses include Lord Coe, Chairman of the Organising Committee and officials from the Olympic Delivery Authority.
More peering into the machinery of government at the Public Administration Committee at 9.45am. They're looking at the plans to reform the Head of the Civil Service with uber commentators professor Lord Hennessy and Peter Riddell, plus journalistic luminaries David Walker of the Guardian and Sue Cameron of the FT.
At 2.20pm, the Joint Committee on Human Rights will be taking evidence from the Lord Chief Justice the superbly named Lord Justice Judge and Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, president of the Supreme Court.
And Chancellor George Osborne and Treasury Minister Mark Hoban are before the Joint Committee on the Draft Financial Services Bill to discuss how to make us safe from a future banking crisis - that's at 3.45pm.
In the Lords (from 2.30pm) the day's main business is the continuing report stage of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Bill - which replaces the previous government's Control Order system for terror suspects. There will also be a short report stage debate on the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Amendment) Bill - a technical measure.
Then there is a debate on a European Union Committee report on Sovereign Credit Ratings - peers will ponder the findings of their the their Economic and Financial Affairs and International Trade EU Sub-Committee recently published report on those mysterious but all-powerful bodies, the credit ratings agencies.
On Wednesday, the Commons isn't sitting. But the Lords (starting at 11am) plough remorselessly on with the committee stage of the Health and Social Care Bill - day six, and from 2pm they will be considering the Welfare Reform Bill in grand committee.
Neither House is due to sit on Thursday or Friday - but watch out for the Lords Constitution Committee report on the Legal Aid Bill. The Lords are just about to get their teeth into this, the latest mega-bill sent to them by the Commons, and the committee's reports on issues like extra powers for ministers and encroachments on judicial discretion can cause trouble for governments.