House of Lords

This House of Lords Library Briefing provides background information on ethnic and religious representation in the House of Lords.

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared ahead of the Saturday 19 October 2019 sitting in the House of Lords to debate the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.

Prorogation is the mechanism by which parliamentary sessions are ended. This House of Lords Library briefing sets out the start and end dates of each parliamentary session since 1900, together with the number of calendar days between the end of the previous session and the start of the new one.

This House of Lords Library Briefing considers committees in the House of Lords which deal with public matters.

This House of Lords Library briefing provides breakdowns of life peers appointed under the Life Peerages Act 1958.

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 provides a list of prime ministerial resignation honours that have included the awarding of peerages.

This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared to mark the 70th Operation Market Garden, an unsuccessful Allied operation during the Second World War. This briefing provides an overview of the Operation and details of the commemorative events taking place to mark this anniversary.

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 has been prepared in advance of the second reading in the House of Lords of the Extension of Franchise (House of Lords) Bill [HL], scheduled to take place on 19 July 2019.

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 the report from the Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities 'The Future of Seaside Towns'.

This House of Lords Library briefing provides lists of the current and former female life Peers and the female hereditary Peers who have been Members of the House of Lords.

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 presents lists of current Members of the House, as at 5 April 2019, who have held roles across government, defence, law, policing, media and other areas of public life.