In Focus

The Draft Northern Ireland Act 1998 (Section 75—Designation of Public Authority) Order 2020 relates to Brexit. It would designate the newly created Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements as a “public authority” for the purposes of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and therefore subject to certain statutory equality duties. The House of Lords is due to debate the order on 8 July 2020.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK Government introduced a new requirement that passengers on public transport wear facial coverings. This measure was intended to prevent the spread of the virus. This article looks at the regulations establishing this requirement, due to be debated in the House of Lords on 8 July 2020.

This article focuses on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the financial stability of local government. It considers how the pandemic has affected local government finances and how the Government has responded.

This article explores changes to the entitlement to free TV licences for the over 75s, and how the timetable for implementing this has been extended because of the coronavirus outbreak.

In June 2020, the Government announced that as part of its response to the Covid-19 pandemic it would be introducing temporary student number controls for higher education providers linked to the student finance system. This article focuses on the regulations that would provide for this change.

This article provides statistics on the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on high street retail sales between March and June 2020. It also summarises the debate over the Government’s package of economic support for retailers, such as the coronavirus job retention scheme and a range of other loans and grants.

Xylella fastidiosa is a bacteria that can cause severe disease and death in certain plants. This article explains what the disease is and discusses recent restrictions on plant imports that the UK Government has imposed to reduce the risk of it being introduced to the UK. Xylella is due to be the subject of an oral question in the House of Lords on 8 July 2020.

This article looks at the current candidates for a Covid-19 vaccine, focusing on the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca project, and the Moderna candidate from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The article highlights the new mRNA technology being developed in some projects. It also looks at what the Government is doing to support vaccine development.

There is no fixed number of seats in the House of Lords, and its make up can change week by week. This piece provides a snapshot of its composition in June 2020.

Aviation has been one of the hardest hit sectors in the coronavirus pandemic. This article looks at Government support for airlines and also at criticisms of policies such as the quarantine. It then considers debates about airlines’ reactions in areas such as employment and customer refunds. The impact of the pandemic on airlines is the subject of an oral question in the House of Lords on 29 June 2020.

In April 2019, the UK Government identified excessive screen time for children as an emerging concern. Since that time, the UK has been under lockdown measures, imposed to help combat the spread of coronavirus, which have forced children to conduct their education and social lives online. This article considers what impact this may have on children and what advice has been given to parents and carers.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a proven impact on mental health. The lockdown, imposed from 23 March, limited many activities that research has shown to be beneficial to mental health. These included exercise and contact with friends. This article examines these factors, and looks at which groups in particular are affected. It also covers steps the Government have taken to support mental health through the pandemic.