This House of Lords Library Briefing summarises amendments made to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill in the House of Lords.
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Summary of Lords Amendments (280 KB , PDF)
The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 18 January 2018 and had its second reading over two days on 30 and 31 January 2018. It was considered in committee of the whole House over eleven sittings between 21 February and 28 March 2018. A total of 477 amendments were tabled to the Bill for consideration at committee stage, but no amendments were made. The Bill was considered by the House of Lords at report stage over six days between 18 April and 8 May 2018. A total of 316 amendments were tabled for consideration at report stage and of these, a total of 192 amendments were made to the Bill. Third reading of the Bill took place on 16 May 2018, when a further nine amendments were made. This Briefing gives an overview of the main changes made to the Bill in the Lords, covering both the 15 government defeats and the numerous government amendments agreed.
More detail on the amendments made at report stages in the Lords is available in a longer House of Lords Library Briefing, European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Lords Report Stage (14 May 2018).
European Union (Withdrawal) Bill: Summary of Lords Amendments (280 KB , PDF)
Public services productivity in the UK fell sharply during the Covid-19 pandemic and is yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. The Conservative government pledged new investment in an attempt to boost the effectiveness of public services prior to the general election. The new Labour government has also placed emphasis on this issue and has indicated further measures will be set out in the forthcoming budget statement.
The Labour government has set out its short- and long-term plans to reduce the pressure on prison capacity in England and Wales. This includes releasing eligible prisoners on licence into the community after they have served 40% of their sentence and building more prisons. Organisations have highlighted the risk of prison overcrowding on prisoner wellbeing. Some charities have called for better mental health support for prisoners whilst in custody and on release.
A recent paper about UK foreign policy called for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to “modernise the working environment to set a future oriented culture”. It described the FCDO’s physical surroundings as “somewhat elitist and rooted in the past”. This briefing looks back at Lords Hansard to chart the House’s response to more radical plans in the 1960s that proposed a new foreign office building, which later formed part of a wider scheme for the redevelopment of Whitehall.
