This House of Lords Library Briefing has been published ahead of day 2 of the Lords debate on the December 2019 Queen’s Speech, covering the following subjects: home affairs, justice, constitutional affairs and devolved affairs.
Queen's Speech January 2020: Debate in the House of Lords Day 2 (297 KB , PDF)
This briefing is one of three prepared ahead of the three days of debate in the House of Lords on the Queen’s Speech, scheduled to take place between 7 and 9 January 2020. The briefings detail the legislative and policy announcements made by the Government, in the Queen’s Speech and in the associated documents, and provide links to further reading.
This briefing looks at home affairs, justice, constitutional affairs and devolved affairs, providing details on the following legislative announcements:
It also covers proposals to repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, to set up a royal commission on the criminal justice process, to establish a constitution, democracy and rights commission and the Government’s policies concerning the devolved administrations.
Queen's Speech January 2020: Debate in the House of Lords Day 2 (297 KB , PDF)
The Hares (Closed Season) Bill [HL] would create a closed season during which it would be an offence to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take any hare between 1 February to 30 September each year. It would also repeal the Hares Preservation Act 1892.
![Hares (Close Season) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 52 of 2024–25](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Agriculture-and-farming-568x426.png)
UK prime ministers may draw up a resignation honours list on their departure from office, in which they may request that the reigning monarch grant honours to any number of people. Such honours may include peerages, knighthoods and damehoods, or other awards. However, not all have chosen to draw up such a list. This briefing lists those prime ministers who have requested that peerages be conferred on their departure from office.
The House of Lords Constitution Committee has re-examined relations between the UK government and devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland following the introduction of new intergovernmental relations structures in January 2022 and its own earlier inquiry on the subject. In a report published in September 2024, the committee urged the government to add a new principle of positive engagement to the principles underpinning the new structures.
