Current Affairs Digest
In September 2023, Birmingham City Council filed a ‘section 114 notice’. In recent years several other councils have also faced financial challenges. This briefing explores some of the constitutional issues raised by the funding system for local authorities in England and summarises proposals for greater fiscal devolution to local government.
In Focus
For centuries it has been custom for the monarch to deliver a speech at the state opening of Parliament. It is formally known as the ‘speech from the throne’. King Charles III will deliver his first speech as sovereign on 7 November 2023. This briefing discusses how the custom developed and looks at some of the themes in previous first state opening speeches.
In Focus
Government plans for adult social care have undergone several changes in the last decade. In December 2022, the House of Lords Adult Social Care Committee published a report examining the adult social care system and making recommendations to make it a “progressive, visible, fairer and kinder system”. In July 2023, the government published a response. It pointed to commitments in its April 2023 white paper, including reform of the adult social care workforce, housing for people who required care and tackling delayed discharge and unnecessary admissions to hospitals.
In Focus
The restoration and renewal programme was created to preserve the Palace of Westminster. In 2022, the commissions of the House of Commons and House of Lords decided to change its governance structure. The progress made in implementing these changes and progressing the programme is outlined in its first annual report, published in July 2023. This article gives an overview of the history of the programme and provides a summary of its annual report. It also highlights plans for both Houses to debate a shortlist of delivery options before the end of 2023.
In Focus
Fast-tracked bills are those which complete all their parliamentary stages in a shortened timescale. Reasons for using the process include correcting an error in legislation or responding to unforeseen circumstances. However, issues such as pressure on the procedural process and a lack of parliamentary scrutiny have been identified with fast-tracking. This article explores how and why bills are fast-tracked.
Current Affairs Digest
Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) experienced two data breaches in July and August 2023. In the first breach, a laptop and documents were stolen from a private vehicle, exposing the names of over 200 officers and staff. In the second breach, the police service accidentally published the personal details of 10,000 officers and staff online. This article examines the ramifications of the data breaches and discusses the political reaction to them.
Research Briefing
The Northern Ireland Budget (No. 2) Bill is a government bill that would authorise government departments and certain other bodies in Northern Ireland to incur expenditure and use resources for the financial year ending 31 March 2024. The House of Commons has passed the bill and the Speaker has certified the bill as a money bill. In practice this limits the extent to which the House of Lords can propose significant changes.
In Focus
A House of Lords committee found in July 2022 that the Northern Ireland Protocol was affecting Northern Ireland businesses differently depending on whether they traded mostly with Great Britain or with Ireland and the EU. A year later, the same committee found the Windsor Framework, which amended the protocol in February 2023, was an improvement on the protocol as originally negotiated, but has not solved all the problems associated with it.
In Focus
Issues such as the growth in short-term lettings and second homes disproportionately impact housing issues in rural and coastal areas. This exacerbates an already complex housing situation nationally. Charities and campaign groups have called for government intervention, arguing that the negative impacts, such as a shortage of affordable housing, are hollowing out rural and coastal areas.
In Focus
In December 2022 the House of Lords Land Use in England Committee published its report into land use in England. The committee noted the increasing number of demands on land and argued for the creation of a land use commission. This would oversee the development of a land use framework, to enable stakeholders to make the best decisions for land. It also made other recommendations. The government responded to the committee in April 2023.
In Focus
In January 2023, the House of Lords Constitution Committee published a report on the roles of the lord chancellor and the law officers. It concluded the office holders must have the character, authority, intellect and independence to defend the rule of law. In response, the government said it had no plans to review the roles but would continue to reflect on the committee’s report. This article summarises the committee’s findings, as well as the government’s response.
In Focus
The government has committed to continue the devolution of power from central government to local government in England. However, the process by which local devolution has been implemented has been criticised as complex and opaque. This briefing provides an overview of local government in England, the government’s policies on devolution and the criticisms made of the government’s approach ahead of a debate on local democracy in the House of Lords.
In Focus
In 2022, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee conducted an inquiry into the government’s stated ambition to make the UK a “science and technology superpower” by 2030. This briefing provides a summary of the committee’s findings and the government’s response, ahead of a debate in the House of Lords on 7 June 2023.
Research Briefing
The Non-Domestic Rating Bill is a government bill that would make changes to business rates. It would reduce the time between property revaluations, impose a duty on businesses to notify the Valuation Office Agency of changes that could affect a property’s rateable value, and introduce rates reliefs for improvements to property and heat networks. It was introduced in the House of Commons on 29 March 2023 and its second reading in the House of Lords is scheduled to take place on 19 June 2023.
Research Briefing
The Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees Bill is intended to widen the statutory functions of the committees to better represent how they have operated in recent years. The bill passed all of its Commons stages unamended with cross-party support.
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