The Counsellors of State Bill [HL] would add the Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex to the pool of members of the royal family who can act as counsellors of state if the sovereign is ill or absent from the UK. The bill is due to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 21 November 2022.
Counsellors of State Bill [HL] (231 KB , PDF)
On 21 November 2022, the second reading of the Counsellors of State Bill [HL] is scheduled to take place in the House of Lords. The bill’s remaining Lords stages are expected to take place on 23 November 2022.
The bill would add the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) and the Earl of Wessex (Prince Edward) to the pool of members of the royal family who can act as counsellors of state if the sovereign is absent from the UK or ill, but not to the extent that a regency is required. King Charles indicated his support for this change in a message to both Houses of Parliament on 14 November 2022. The bill would not make any other changes to the existing provisions on counsellors of state.
Current legislation specifies that the counsellors of state consist of the spouse of the sovereign and the four people next in the line of succession to the crown, not counting those who are disqualified, for example for not being of full age. There is no provision for making anyone else a counsellor of state. The current counsellors of state are the Queen Consort, the Prince of Wales (Prince William), the Duke of Sussex (Prince Harry), the Duke of York (Prince Andrew) and Princess Beatrice. Counsellors of state can be excepted if they are absent from the UK during the period in which the sovereign is delegating royal functions, but no replacement can be appointed for someone who is absent.
All powers and authorities belonging to the crown, whether prerogative or statutory, can be delegated to the counsellors of state, except for dissolving Parliament otherwise than on the express instructions of the sovereign, and granting peerages. When the sovereign delegates royal functions, the letters patent that make the delegation specify what functions the counsellors of state may or may not perform. The letters patent usually specify that counsellors of state are required to act in pairs.
Counsellors of State Bill [HL] (231 KB , PDF)
This proposed law would introduce a new “think again” procedure in the House of Lords so members could ask the House of Commons to consider their concerns before a draft affirmative statutory instrument is approved.
![Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Bill [HL]: HL Bill 14 of 2024–25](https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/House-of-Lords-568x426.png)
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.
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.
