• Research Briefing

    Fiscal Responsibility Bill (HL Bill 24 of 2009–2010). LLN 2010/005

    Fiscal Responsibility Bill (HL Bill 24 of 2009–2010). The Fiscal Responsibility Bill imposes a statutory duty on the Treasury to meet specific targets for the reduction of government borrowing and debt. The Bill gives Parliament a greater role in fiscal policy. It has completed its passage through the House of Commons and is due for its second reading debate in the House of Lords on 10th February 2010. This House of Lords Library Note summarises the second reading debate and the other stages of the Bill’s passage through the House of Commons.

  • Research Briefing

    Debate on 4th February: the national security strategy. LLN 2010/004

    Debate on 4th February: the national security strategy. This Library Note aims to provide background reading for the debate to be held on Thursday 4th February: “To call attention to the United Kingdom’s National Security Strategy” This Note outlines the UK’s National Security Strategy, which was first published in March 2008 and updated in June 2009. It also gives details of the implementation of various new bodies and processes that have been established within the framework of the National Security Strategy, and considers the Strategy’simplications for the intelligence services and the military. Finally it outlines alternative national security strategies recently proposed by the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Conservative Party.

  • Research Briefing

    Debate on 28th January: the case For a fairer and more progressive tax system. LLN 2010/003

    Debate on 28th January: the case For a fairer and more progressive tax system This Library Note aims to provide background reading for the debate to be held on Thursday 28th January: “To call attention to the case for a fairer and more progressive tax system” This Note examines the differing perspectives recently put forward by interest groups and policy think-tanks on whether reforms should be introduced aimed at providing for a fairer and more progressive system of taxation in the UK.

  • Research Briefing

    Debate on 21st January: prospects for nuclear disarmament and strengthening non-proliferation. LLN 2010/002

    Debate on 21st January: Prospects for Nuclear Disarmament and Strengthening Non-Proliferation. This Library Note aims to provide background reading for the Debate to be held on Thursday 21st January: “To call attention to the prospects for multi-lateral nuclear disarmament and for strengthening nuclear non-proliferation” The Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference will take place in May 2010. This Note summarises the main issues addressed in the Foreign Office information paper Lifting the Nuclear Shadow: Creating the Conditions for Abolishing Nuclear Weapons and the Government’s agenda for the Review Conference, as laid out in the Cabinet Office paper The Road to 2010: Addressing the Nuclear Question in the Twenty First Century. The Note also chronicles the main developments in the international community since the publication of these papers and summarises some of the contributions to the nuclear debate from a variety of sources, including the views of the UN Secretary General and the former Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

  • Research Briefing

    Debate on 14th January: The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. LLN 2010/001

    Debate on 14th January: The Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change. This Library Note aims to provide background reading for the debate to be held on Thursday 14th January: “To call attention to the outcome of the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change” The UN Conference on Climate Change took place in Copenhagen from 7th–19th December 2009. This Note explains the significance of the Conference in the context of previous international agreements on climate change, sets out the major disagreements that marred the negotiating process in Copenhagen and summarises the key elements contained in the final Copenhagen Accord. It considers analysis of the Accord’s achievements and shortcomings, and summarises the reactions of key nations and interest groups.

  • Research Briefing

    Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Bill. LLN 2009/011

    Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Bill. House of Lords Library Note 2009/011. The Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 19th November 2009, and is due to receive its second reading on 8th December. This Library Note provides background information on the use of cluster munitions; UK and international policy on their use; and the measures contained in the Bill.

  • Research Briefing

    House of Lords: expense allowances and costs. LLN 2009/009

    House of Lords: expense allowances and costs. House of Lords Library Note 2009/009. This House of Lords Library Note looks at the expense allowances that Peers have been able to claim since 1946. In particular, a chronology of key debates and motions is provided, as is a summary table of expense allowances. The second part of this Note provides a series of figures of the cost of the House of Lords since the Life Peerages Act 1958.

  • Research Briefing

    The Appellate Jurisdiction of the House of Lords (Updated November 2009). LLN 2009/010

    The Appellate Jurisdiction of the House of Lords (Updated November 2009). House of Lords Library Note 2009/010 From 1st October 2009 the appellate jurisdiction of the House of Lords was transferred to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. This Library Note gives an account of the history of the appellate jurisdiction, its functioning in practice and describes the Supreme Court.

  • Research Briefing

    The Weatherill Amendment: Elected Hereditary Peers (updated October 2009)

    The House of Lords Bill 1998–99 sought to abolish the right of all hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords, and represented the most significant attempt to reform the House for some years. During the Lords consideration of the Bill, Lord Weatherill moved an amendment to allow 92 hereditary peers to remain as Members of the House. Thus the amendment, which was accepted in both Houses and became part of the House of Lords Act 1999, has become known as the ‘Weatherill amendment’. This Library Note provides a history of the amendment and outlines developments since 1999.

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