• Research Briefing

    Maiden Speeches LLN 2010/019

    This House of Lords Library Note provides the text of selected recent maiden speeches to illustrate the range of styles and subjects covered by new Members in their first contribution in the Chamber. It also includes an index of Members’ maiden speeches in the Lords since 2006.

  • Research Briefing

    Defamation. LLN 2010/016

    Defamation This House of Lords Library Note looks at recent issues surrounding defamation in preparation for the forthcoming debate on Lord Lester of Herne Hill’s private member’s Defamation Bill on Friday, 9 July 2010. In particular, this Note looks at recent developments on defamation, the multiple publication rule, “libel tourism” and conditional fee agreements.

  • Research Briefing

    Possible implications of House of Lords reform LLN 2010/014

    Possible Implications of House of Lords Reform: The purpose of this House of Lords Library Note is to consider the possible consequences of House of Lords reform. An implicit assumption in the Note is that future proposals to reform the Lords will be based on a fully or mainly elected Second Chamber. The major focus of the Note concerns the impact of such reform upon the House itself, its relationship with the House of Commons and Government, but also with the electorate and society more generally.

  • Research Briefing

    Wash-Up: Bills Receiving Royal Assent, 1987–2005. LLN 2010/011

    Wash-Up: Bills Receiving Royal Assent, 1987–2005 The purpose of this Note is to examine the passage of Bills that have received Royal Assent during the wash-up periods that preceded the last five general elections, by illustrating what stage each Bill had reached by the start of the wash-up and how it progressed through its remaining stages. It also contains a table showing Public Bills currently before parliament and the stage in the legislative process that each has reached. The inclusion of this information is not intended to imply any judgement about when the date of the 2010 general election will be announced, merely to summarise the situation at the time of writing.

  • Research Briefing

    Crime and Security Bill (HL Bill 45 of 2009–10). LLN 2010/010

    Crime and Security Bill (HL Bill 45 of 2009–10) The Crime and Security Bill is wide-ranging. It contains provisions to reduce the reporting requirements on the police when they stop and search individuals; to set out a statutory framework for the retention and destruction of biometric material, including DNA data; to provide the police with the power to issue “go” notices to alleged perpetrators of domestic violence; to extend injunctions for gang-related violence to 14-17 year-olds; to require courts to make parenting orders when a young person breaches an ASBO; to introduce a licensing scheme for wheel-clamping businesses; to create a new criminal offence of possessing a mobile phone in prison; to create a new offence of failing to take reasonable precautions to prevent a person under 18 from having unauthorised access to an air weapon; to compensate the victims of overseas terrorism; to enable licensing authorities to restrict the sale of alcohol between 3am and 6am; and to give the police new powers to search a person subject to a control order. The Bill has completed its passage through the House of Commons and is due for a second reading debate in the House of Lords on 29th March 2010. This House of Lords Library Note focuses on the debates on the retention and destruction of DNA data on the National DNA Database. It also gives brief details of the other parts of the Bill that were discussed at report stage in the Commons.

  • Research Briefing

    Debate on 11th March: The national minimum wage and poverty. LLN 2010/008

    Debate on 11th March: The national minimum wage and poverty. This Library Note aims to provide background reading for the debate to be held on 11th March: “The impact of the National Minimum Wage on household and individual poverty” This Note examines the history and development of the National Minimum Wage since its introduction in 1999, and its effect on earnings, the economy, and groups within society. The Note then examines levels and trends in poverty since the election of the Labour Government and the subsequent introduction of the National Minimum Wage.

  • Research Briefing

    Ceremonial in the House of Lords. LLN 2010/007

    Ceremonial in the House of Lords. This Library Note focuses on the principal ceremonies that take place in the House of Lords, including the State Opening, presenting the Speaker of the House of Commons, Royal Assent, prorogation and dissolution, and the Introduction of peers. It also describes the role of Royal Commissions, the roles of the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain, other notable ceremonies (the Lord Speaker’s Procession and presentation of an Address to the Sovereign) and finally looks at proposals for reform.

  • Research Briefing

    Debate on 25th February: Higher and Further Education Funding. LLN 2010/006

    Debate on 25th February: Higher and Further Education Funding. This Library Note aims to provide background reading for the debate to be held on Thursday 25th February: “To call attention to the consequences of the cuts to higher and further education funding that have been announced” This Note provides a snapshot of the UK higher and further education sector as it stands today, together with details of recent policy developments in these areas. It also gives details of the funding announcements made by the Government and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the reaction to those announcements by the universities and colleges. Finally, the Note outlines some of the recent contributions to the debate on how higher education in particular should be funded.