• Research Briefing

    Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: HL Bill 112 of 2024–25

    The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow adults in England and Wales with a prognosis of less than six months to live to be provided with assistance to end their lives, subject to eligibility criteria and conditions. It is a private member’s bill that was introduced in the House of Commons by Kim Leadbeater (Labour MP for Spen Valley). It completed its passage through the Commons in June 2025. Its second reading in the House of Lords is due to take place on 12 September 2025.

  • In Focus

    The international crime of genocide

    Genocide is one of the gravest crimes of concern to the international community. This briefing examines the elements of the crime of genocide, how it is determined and what the UK government’s position is on making genocide determinations.

  • Research Briefing

    Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill: Bill 118 of 2024–25

    The bill aims to strengthen the law on livestock worrying in England and Wales. Dogs chasing and attacking livestock can cause death, distress and pregnancy loss in animals, as well as financial and emotional impacts for farmers. The bill would increase penalties, expand the definition of livestock and the locations where incidents take place, and give police more powers of evidence collection and dog detention.

  • In Focus

    Regulations amending the rules on foreign state investment in UK news sources

    The House of Lords is due to debate whether to approve three statutory instruments on 22 July 2025. These relate to the restrictions on foreign state investment in UK news sources, such as newspapers. One of these instruments would allow foreign states to own holdings of up to 15% in a UK news source owner. The reasoning behind this move has been questioned by a House of Lords committee, and Liberal Democrat peer Lord Fox has tabled a motion calling on the House to reject it.

  • In Focus

    Select communications offences and concerns over free speech

    Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 contain communications offences which criminalise the sending of indecent or grossly offensive messages. In April 2025, the Times reported that arrests made under these sections had increased since the pandemic, while convictions under them had decreased over the past decade. Responding to the data, commentators have argued that the findings highlight issues around the offences and their impact on free speech.

  • In Focus

    Executive oversight of the UK constitution: Lords Constitution Committee report

    In January 2025 the House of Lords Constitution Committee published a report on the responsibility of the government (the executive) to oversee the constitution. It concluded that the UK’s constitutional arrangements would benefit from several improved safeguards, such as the appointment of a senior minister to advise on constitutional matters and for advisory bodies to be put on a statutory footing.

  • In Focus

    Music education in state schools

    Music forms part of the national curriculum up to key stage 3. Recent statistics show increases in GCSE music entries in summer 2025 compared to the previous academic year, but there has also been a drop in A-level entries in the same period. Additionally, concerns have been raised about the quality of music provision in schools and the difficulties faced by children from more deprived areas in accessing music education.

  • In Focus

    Wildfires: Reducing the risks and mitigating the effects

    Wildfires can harm people and ecosystems and damage property and the environment. Almost all wildfires in the UK are the result of accidental or deliberate acts by humans. Their frequency and severity have been increasing in recent years, with the area burned so far in 2025 already setting records. The National Fire Chiefs Council has called for more resourcing, consistency and coordination to mitigate the effects of future wildfires.

  • Research Briefing

    Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill: HL Bill 101 of 2024–25

    This bill seeks to implement the government’s commitments to modernise the asylum and immigration systems, establish a border security command and introduce enhanced powers and offences to tackle immigration crime and people smuggling gangs. It has completed its passage in the House of Commons and is scheduled to have its second reading in the House of Lords on 2 June 2025.

  • In Focus

    AI and creative technology scaleups: Communications and Digital Committee report

    In September 2024 the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee launched an inquiry into the scaleup challenges facing startup enterprises working with artificial intelligence (AI) and creative technology. In a report published in February 2025, the committee warned the UK risked becoming an incubator economy where UK startups developed innovative products and services before selling out or moving abroad. This briefing summarises the report’s recommendations and the government’s response.

  • In Focus

    Antisemitism on university campuses

    The Community Security Trust, a UK charity that works to protect Jews from antisemitism and other threats, has reported a significant increase in antisemitic incidents on UK university campuses following the start of the current conflict in the Middle East. This briefing provides background information on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and its adoption by UK universities, before concluding with a summary of recent government policy to tackle antisemitism in the higher education sector.

  • In Focus

    NHS staff access to single-sex spaces

    The House of Lords is due to discuss NHS staff access to single-sex spaces on 1 May 2025. Following a recent Supreme Court judgment about the meaning of the term ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010, the Equality and Human Rights Commission issued an interim update on 25 April 2025 about the implications of this for workplaces and services provided to the public.

  • In Focus

    Compensation for victims of Libyan-sponsored IRA terrorism

    Between the 1970s and 1990s, the Gaddafi-led Libyan regime supplied the Provisional IRA with weapons, finance and military training. This included shipments of the explosive Semtex, which was used in several bombings where a number of people died and many more were injured. Campaigners have called on the UK government to use Libyan assets frozen in 2011 to compensate victims. However, successive governments, including the current Labour government, have declined to do so, arguing it would break international law.

  • In Focus

    Equality in death? The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

    On 8 May 2025, the country will mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the end of the second world war in Europe. Many of the commemorations will take place in cemeteries where those who died during the conflict are remembered. This briefing focuses on the organisation behind these cemeteries, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It looks at how the commission developed and recent work on one of its key principles: equality in death.

Total results (page 5 of 68)