Parliament

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the debate scheduled to take place in the House of Lords on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on 2 October 2019. The briefing summarises key Brexit-related events since June 2016, outlines the positions of the main political parties, and provides suggestions for further reading.

This House of Lords Library briefing provides a list of the mover and seconder following each Queen’s Speech since 1997, along with each Member’s party affiliation at the time.

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the second reading of the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 6) Bill in the House of Lords on 5 September 2019. The Briefing sets out the main points of the Bill and summarises its passage through the House of Commons.

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the debate due to take place in the House of Lords on 9 September 2019 that “this House takes note of the recent work of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament”.

This House of Lords Library Briefing is the result of an initiative by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology to foster collaborative work between academics and Parliament. As part of this scheme, the House of Lords Library hosted Dr Ruth Dixon of the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, to explore the impact of the House of Lords, focusing on the chamber’s legislative role. In this briefing, Dr Dixon describes how she used her novel methodology to analyse amendments to government legislation in the most recent completed parliamentary session, 2016–17. This analysis is followed by two case studies which explore interactions between the Government and legislators during the same session. The first outlines the response of Parliament in April 2017 to the unexpected announcement of a general election. The second analyses the fate of part of the Children and Social Work Act 2017: clauses that were intended to allow local authorities to apply to be exempted from statutory provisions in children’s social care. Overall Dr Dixon concludes that the impact of the House of Lords is relatively subtle. In order to influence policy through legislation, Members must not only gather cross-party support within the chamber, they must also gain the support of the Commons. Her analysis shows various ways in which this is achieved.

This House of Lords Library Briefing contains background reading in preparation for the second reading of the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Bill on 8 July 2019.

This House of Lords Library Briefing Pack contains a selection of material relevant for the forthcoming debate on appointing a joint committee of both Houses on the costs and implications for the UK of leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement on 31 October 2019.

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the debate due to take place on 20 June 2019. Lord Bird (Crossbench) is to move that “this House takes note of the case for better protecting and representing the interests of future generations in policymaking”.

This House of Lords Library Briefing Pack contains a selection of material relevant for the forthcoming question for short debate on the impact of the increased use of referenda on the functioning of representative democracy in the UK.

This House of Lords Library Briefing Pack contains a selection of material relevant for the forthcoming House of Lords debate on the following two reports from the House of Lords Constitution Committee: The Legislative Process: The Delegation of Powers, 20 November 2018, HL Paper 225 of session 2017–19; and The Legislative Process: Preparing Legislation for Parliament, 25 October 2017, HL Paper 27 of session 2017–19.

This House of Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of a debate on the potential conflict between the right of members to speak freely in Parliament and the obligation under the rule of law to obey court orders. The debate is scheduled to take place on 23 May 2019.

This House of Lords Library Briefing Pack contains a selection of material relevant for the forthcoming question for short debate on what assessment Her Majesty’s Government have made of the effectiveness of the governance of English football.