The Crown Estate Bill [HL] is a government bill to widen the borrowing and investment powers of the Crown Estate. The government intends this will help speed up the development of offshore wind projects in seabed areas managed by the Crown Estate and deliver long-term financial returns to the taxpayer. It announced a partnership between the Crown Estate and Great British Energy on the same day it introduced the bill.
Crown Estate Bill [HL] (340 KB , PDF)
The Crown Estate Bill [HL] is a government bill introduced in the House of Lords on 25 July 2024. It is scheduled to have its second reading on 2 September 2024. The Crown Estate manages land and property held “in right of the crown”, including the seabed around England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Crown Estate’s net revenue profits are paid to the Treasury. The amount of profit is used to determine the size of the sovereign grant paid to the King, although it is the Treasury that pays the grant. It is governed by the Crown Estate Act 1961. The bill would amend this legislation to:
The government believes that widening the Crown Estate’s investment and borrowing powers will unlock significant investment in public infrastructure for the benefit of the nation. On the day the bill was introduced, the government announced a partnership between the Crown Estate and Great British Energy to bring forward new offshore wind developments. It said this could lead to up to 20–30 gigawatts (GW) of new offshore wind projects reaching the seabed lease stage by 2030. The Conservative government had announced plans in the 2023 autumn statement to legislate to increase the Crown Estate’s borrowing and investment powers but did not introduce this legislation in the 2023–24 parliamentary session. The Crown Estate itself has welcomed the legislation. However, commentators have suggested that the success of new offshore wind developments will require increasing capacity on the electricity grid.
Crown Estate Bill [HL] (340 KB , PDF)
The government has said it wants to reform the civil service by reducing its size and improving its performance. This briefing considers the measures the government has announced, and the reaction to them from unions and commentators.
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.
