UK-Mauritius treaty on the Chagos Archipelago

The Chagos Archipelago has been the subject of a long-standing dispute over its sovereignty between the UK and Mauritius. Having been retained by the UK since 1965, the largest island, Diego Garcia, later became the site of a joint UK-US military base. In May 2025, the UK reached an agreement to transfer sovereignty of the islands back to Mauritius, while maintaining an initial 99-year lease of Diego Garcia. The agreement also includes security and financial provisions.

UK-Mauritius treaty on the Chagos Archipelago

Methane emissions: House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee report

In December 2024, the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee published a report examining methane emissions in the UK. While acknowledging the UK’s efforts to reduce emissions, the committee expressed concerns about the UK’s international role in addressing the issue. It made several recommendations, including calling on the government to publish a methane action plan detailing how it would meet its global commitment to reducing methane emissions.

Methane emissions: House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee report

The future of news: Report by the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee

In November 2024, the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee published a report examining the future of the news sector in the UK. While acknowledging the sector’s strengths, it expressed concerns about declining trust and revenue, threats to investigative reporting and the influence of artificial intelligence (AI). It made several recommendations to the government and others, including dedicating resources to address the challenges of AI and developing a media literacy strategy.

The future of news: Report by the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee

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    Public inquiries: Enhancing public trust—report by the House of Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee

    In November 2024, the House of Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee published a report examining public inquiries established under the Inquiries Act 2005. While recognising their positive impact, the committee criticised elements of the public inquiry system, such as governments failing to implement agreed inquiry recommendations. To address this, the committee proposed several reforms, including the formation of a parliamentary committee to oversee inquiries and ensure government accountability for implementing recommendations.

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    Law relating to prenuptial agreements

    At present, prenuptial agreements are not automatically enforceable by courts in England and Wales. However, a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in 2010 stated that courts should consider such agreements if entered into freely and with full understanding, unless doing so would be unfair. This has prompted calls for reforming marriage laws, including a Law Commission proposal to introduce a new form of marital property agreement.

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    UK’s contribution to UN peacekeeping operations

    The UK has been involved in UN peacekeeping since 1948. Its contribution includes determining UN security council mandates, providing financial support and deploying personnel to peacekeeping operations. This briefing examines recent UK peacekeeping operations and policies to support such efforts. This includes commitments to enhancing UK military training of peacekeepers before and during operations.

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    Housing: Supply, quality and community impact

    The government has made several proposals to increase housing supply and improve the quality of homes. This includes prioritising building housing on brownfield sites and reforming the national planning policy framework. However, there are concerns that the development of such homes can impact surrounding communities, affecting factors such as green spaces, local infrastructure and public services.

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    Retail crime: Impact on workers, the community and local economies

    Reported retail crime has increased significantly in recent years. This criminal activity, encompassing offences such as shoplifting and assaults on retail workers, has impacted businesses, their employees and local economies. The government has outlined plans to tackle retail crime in response to this issue. This includes legislating to create a new specific offence of assaulting a retail worker and to remove the threshold on so-called “low-value” shoplifting offences.

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    Weight management: Diet and medication

    The NHS sometimes prescribes weight management drugs to people with severe obesity and conditions such as type 2 diabetes. Many health professionals have argued that the drugs could positively impact people, alongside diet and exercise regimes. However, there are concerns that demand for the drugs could stretch existing NHS services and have led to people using them without a medical reason.

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    Addressing external auditing deficiencies

    The collapse of major UK companies such as BHS and Carillion has raised questions about the effectiveness of the country’s auditing practices. The government has committed to reforming the auditing industry. The 2024 King’s Speech included plans to publish a draft bill comprising measures to establish a new audit, reporting and governance regulatory body with enhanced enforcement powers. The draft bill has not yet been published.

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    Higher education funding

    In recent years, many universities have faced financial challenges. This has been attributed to several factors, including the impact of inflation on the real-terms value of tuition fee income from undergraduates, a dependence on international student numbers and increases in the cost of living. These challenges have led to some universities reducing their education provision and staffing allocations.

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    Accountability, independence and performance of UK regulators: House of Lords committee report

    The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee published a report in February 2024 examining the accountability, independence and performance of UK regulators. The committee highlighted several issues, including the perceived influence of political factors in the appointment and reappointment of regulatory leaders, rather than suitability for the role. The House of Lords is due to debate the report on 9 September 2024.

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