• In Focus

    Built Environment Committee: Public transport in towns and cities

    In 2022, the House of Lords Built Environment Committee conducted an inquiry on public transport in English towns and cities outside London, including local bus services. It considered levels of demand for local public transport, how demand may have been changed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the extent to which existing public transport services met local needs. This briefing provides a summary of the committee’s findings and the government’s response.

  • In Focus

    Windsor Framework (Democratic Scrutiny) Regulations 2023 and the Stormont brake

    On 29 March 2023, the House of Lords is due to debate regulations that would implement the Stormont brake in domestic law. These regulations were approved by the House of Commons on 22 March 2023. The Stormont brake is a key part of the Windsor Framework agreed between the UK and the EU. This briefing explains the background to the brake and how it would work, and includes reaction from political parties.

  • In Focus

    Future of adult social care

    On 30 March 2023, the House of Lords is due to debate adult social care. The debate is expected to focus on government plans for adult social care, new duties for the Care Quality Commission to assess local authorities, and several non-government reports on how adult social care in England should be reformed. This article considers these issues and outlines social care policy announcements made by successive Conservative administrations in recent years.

  • Current Affairs Digest

    Current Affairs Digest: Constitution (March 2023)

    In December 2022, the Labour Party published the final report of the Commission on the UK’s Future, also known as the Brown Commission, chaired by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The report proposed several constitutional changes, including the replacement of the House of Lords with an elected second chamber called the Assembly of the Nations and Regions. This article considers the proposals for the second chamber and sets out reaction to them from both inside and outside Westminster.

  • In Focus

    The Barnett formula: How it operates and proposals for change

    The Barnett formula calculates the yearly change to the block grant; this is the largest of the grants provided to the devolved administrations by the UK government. The formula aims to give each nation the same pounds-per-person change in funding each year. However, criticisms about equity have been made regarding how the formula is calculated. Calls for reform have mainly focused on proposals to introduce a universal needs-based factor to the formula.

  • Research Briefing

    Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Organ and Tissue Donation) Bill: HL Bill 105 of 2022–23

    The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Organ and Tissue Donation) Bill would extend the deadline for forming a Northern Ireland executive to 18 January 2024. It would also allow the secretary of state to set an Assembly election date earlier than this if no executive had been formed. It would also allow regulations to be made about the rule for organ donation in Northern Ireland in the absence of a functioning Assembly.

  • In Focus

    Implementing the Dunlop review into the UK’s union capability

    The Dunlop review examined whether UK government structures were set up to “realise fully all the benefits of being a United Kingdom”. Its report, published in March 2021, made recommendations on reforms the UK government should make to the machinery of government and the civil service to strengthen the working of the union. This article looks at how its recommendations have been taken forward.

  • In Focus

    Police and crime panels: Structure, purpose and powers

    Police and crime panels are local bodies that scrutinise police and crime commissioners in England and Wales. There have been some concerns that they lack the right resources, training and powers to carry out the role effectively. A recent government review concluded they had the right powers at their disposal. Following the review, the government updated guidance for panel members and support officers.

  • In Focus

    ‘Common frameworks: An unfulfilled opportunity?’: Common Frameworks Scrutiny Committee report

    In its second report, the House of Lords Commons Frameworks Scrutiny Committee considered the progress made on the UK common frameworks programme. Common frameworks are non-binding agreements between the UK and devolved governments that set out ways of working on a range of policy areas. They are required for some devolved policy areas that have been affected by Brexit. The committee raised concerns that the programme was at risk of becoming a “missed opportunity”. It made a number of recommendations, the majority of which the government has accepted.

  • In Focus

    Central bank digital currencies: Lords Economic Affairs Committee report

    The Bank of England is considering whether to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the UK. Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, CBDCs are digital forms of money issued and backed by a central bank. The House of Lords is due to debate a 2022 report by the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee which concluded that it had “yet to hear a convincing case” for why the UK needs a CBDC.

  • Research Briefing

    Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill: HL Bill 89 of 2022–23

    The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is due to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 6 February 2023. The bill would automatically revoke, or ‘sunset’, most retained EU law at the end of 2023. However it would also give ministers powers to exempt some retained EU law from the sunset and to restate, reproduce, replace or update retained EU law by statutory instrument.

  • Research Briefing

    Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Bill: HL Bill 72 of 2022–23

    The Mobile Homes (Pitch Fees) Bill is a short private member's bill which would change the inflationary measure used during annual pitch fee reviews for mobile homes from the retail prices index (RPI) to the consumer prices index (CPI). CPI is generally lower than RPI, which proponents of the bill say will provide a cost saving to mobile home owners. The bill is sponsored by Lord Udny-Lister (Conservative). It completed its passage in the House of Commons with no amendment or debate. The bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 21 November 2022 and is scheduled to have its second reading on 3 February 2022. Housing policy is a devolved matter. The bill extends to England and Wales but would only apply to England. It would come into force two months after royal assent.

  • In Focus

    Scrutiny of EU legislation within the scope of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: Debate on committee report

    One of the tasks of the House of Lords Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland Sub-Committee is to scrutinise EU legislative proposals that may affect Northern Ireland because of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The House of Lords is due to debate a report from the committee that summarises the first year of its work on this issue and the government’s commitment to facilitating this parliamentary scrutiny.

  • Research Briefing

    Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: HL Bill 84 of 2022-23

    The Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill would give effect to aspects of the government’s levelling up agenda to reduce economic, social and environmental disparities between and within different parts of the UK. It would provide for the government to set statutory levelling up missions amongst other measures, including significant proposals concerning planning in England. A number of clauses were added to the bill during the bill’s passage through the House of Commons.

  • In Focus

    Building a stronger union: House of Lords Constitution Committee

    In January 2022, the House of Lords Constitution Committee published a report calling for the UK government to set out a “clearer vision” for the future of the UK’s union. Although it welcomed the government’s commitment to the union, it argued that a more modern style of governance was needed, and that it was “imperative” that all executives and legislatures worked “constructively and in partnership”. The government has welcomed the report and said it would consider several of its recommendations.

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