The Government has proposed setting up a constitution, democracy and rights commission to consider broad aspects of the UK’s constitution. This would look at issues including the relationship between the government, parliament, and the courts; the functioning of the royal prerogative; the role of the House of Lords; and access to justice.
Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission (330 KB , PDF)
The Conservative Party’s manifesto for the December 2019 general election included a commitment to set up a constitution, democracy, and rights commission. The manifesto argued that following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU it would be necessary to look at the “broader aspects” of the UK’s constitution. It said a Conservative Government would set up a constitution, democracy, and rights commission to examine the following issues:
Other areas would include examining judicial review and amending the Human Rights Act 1998 to balance the rights of individuals, national security, and effective government.
There are currently limited details available on the remit, form, and composition of the commission. The Government has said that it wants to ensure a range of expertise is represented on the commission and that it takes evidence from third parties and civic society to inform any recommendations.
Several commentators and academics have welcomed the general principle of reviewing the UK’s constitutional arrangements. However, some have expressed concern about the context of the commission, particularly coming after the Supreme Court found against the Government on constitutional issues.
This Lords Library Briefing sets out what is presently known about the commission; an overview of the areas it is proposed to cover; political responses to it; and recent commentary from academics and organisations concerned with government and the constitution.
Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission (330 KB , PDF)
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill is a private member’s bill that has government support. The purpose of the bill is to amend the Equality Act 2010 to make employers liable for harassment of their employees by third parties (such as customers or clients) and to introduce a specific duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of their employees.
The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Organ and Tissue Donation) Bill would extend the deadline for forming a Northern Ireland executive to 18 January 2024. It would also allow the secretary of state to set an Assembly election date earlier than this if no executive had been formed. It would also allow regulations to be made about the rule for organ donation in Northern Ireland in the absence of a functioning Assembly.
Before an employer can make an employee on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave redundant, redundancy protection regulations require an employer to give that employee first refusal on a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists. The Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill would give the secretary of state powers to introduce regulations that would enable redundancy protections to apply from the point an employee told their employer that they were pregnant, and six months after returning from maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.