This House of Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of a debate that is scheduled to take place in the House on 1 December 2016 on the best options for the United Kingdom’s future relationship with the European Union following the referendum vote to leave.
This House of Lords Library briefing provides information in support of the House of Lords consideration of the Small Charitable Donations and Childcare Payments Bill.
Ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November, this briefing sets out background information on UN initiatives to raise awareness of violence against women and UK actions to tackle the issue.
This House of Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of a debate that is scheduled to take place in the House on 24 November 2016 on the implications of Brexit on the NHS and social care workforce.
On 24 November 2016, the House of Lords will debate the case for limiting the number and nature of claims against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and UK armed services personnel arising out of future armed conflict abroad. On 4 October 2016, the Government announced that it would introduce a presumption to derogate from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in future conflicts in order to protect the armed forces from “persistent legal claims”. This briefing will focus on the Government’s recent proposals to derogate from the ECHR. It provides an overview of the legal framework for military operations, summarises some of the key legal claims that have been made against the armed forces, and outlines the work of the Iraq Historic Investigations Team (IHAT).
This House of Lords Library briefing provides background information in advance of the second reading of the International Development (Official Assistance Target) (Amendment) Bill [HL] in the House of Lords on Friday 18 November 2016. It provides background information on the international development official assistance (ODA) target along with further details on the UK’s performance in meeting the annual ODA target since 2013. The briefing also explores the annual management of the ODA target.
This House of Lords Library briefing has been prepared in advance of a debate that is scheduled to take place in the House on 17 November 2016 on the impact of the level of sterling on the economy and investment.
Ahead of World Diabetes Day on 14 November 2016, this House of Lords Library briefing sets out background information on diabetes including prevalence and health policy.
On 3 November 2016, the High Court of England and Wales handed down a judgment in which it held that the Secretary of State does not have power under the Crown’s prerogative to give notice pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union for the UK to withdraw from the European Union. This briefing examines responses to the judgment at Westminster and in the devolved administrations.
This Lords Library briefing provides information on recent developments regarding political party funding, in preparation for a question for short debate on 3 November 2016 regarding possible future reforms to party funding.
This House of Lords Library briefing presents an overview of housing in the UK, including statistics on housing supply and demand. It considers some of the causes of the housing shortage and explores recent reports that have sought to identify the impact of the housing market on young people. It concludes with a brief summary of government policy in this area.
This House of Lords Library briefing provides information on current university and research funding in the UK and identifies some of the key issues raised about this funding following the UK’s referendum vote to withdraw from the EU.
On 1 November 2016, the Pension Schemes Bill is scheduled to have its second reading. The Bill seeks to “[protect] savers and [maintain] confidence in pensions savings” by increasing the regulation of master trust schemes and providing members of occupational pension schemes with a “level of protection equivalent to that of members of personal protection schemes”. Part one focuses on the introduction of an authorisation and supervisory regime for master trust schemes, and part two seeks to implement the Government’s intention to introduce a cap on early exit charges and ban member-borne commission charges in certain occupational pension schemes.
This Library briefing provides an overview of the policy background to the provisions of the Bill and outlines a number of its clauses.
Ahead of the debate on 27 October 2016 on the Government’s plans to promote social mobility, this Library briefing provides an overview of recent Government announcements in this area and concludes with a discussion of different views on social mobility.