FAQs on key legislation affecting the House of Lords
What are the Parliament Acts?
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 define the powers of the House of Lords in relation to Public Bills (including Private Members' Bills).
The general rule is that all Bills have to be passed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords except in certain circumstances.
Money Bills: certified by the Speaker and deal with taxation of public expenditure.
Money Bills start in the Commons and must receive Royal Assent no more than a month after being introduced in the Lords even if the Lords has not passed them.
Most other Commons Bills: the Lords can hold up a Bill it disagrees with for about a year but ultimately the elected House of Commons can reintroduce it in the following session and pass it without the Lords' consent.
Bills which are not subject to the Parliament Acts are:
- Bills prolonging the length of a parliament beyond 5 years
- Private Bills
- Bills sent up to the Lords less than a month before the end of a session
- Bills which start in the Lords.
Although rarely invoked, the Parliament Acts provide a framework and a means of solving disagreement between the Commons and Lords.
When have the Parliament Acts been used since 1949?
- War Crimes Act 1991
- European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999
- Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
- Hunting Act 2004
What did the Life Peerages Act 1958 do?
The Life Peerages Act 1958 permitted the creation of peerages for life, with no limit on numbers, to persons of either sex.
What did the Peerage Act 1963 allow?
The Peerage Act 1963 allowed hereditary peeresses to be members of the Lords, hereditary peerages to be disclaimed for life and for all Scottish Peers to sit.
What happened under the House of Lords Act 1999?
The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the right of most hereditary peers to sit and vote in the Lords.
92 hereditary peers remain in the House until full reform.
List of Members of the House of Lords by party and peerage
Where can I find information on reform of the House of Lords?
The Government published its White Paper outlining proposals for reform of the House of Lords - 'An Elected Second Chamber' - on 14 July 2008.
on 7 February 2007.The White Paper was debated in both Houses and the options for reform were voted on in the House of Commons on 7 March 2007. The vote in the House of Lords took place on 14 March 2007 after two days of debate. The Commons voted for a predominately elected Lords (80/20) whereas the Lords voted for an all-appointed House.
For more information on the House of Lords 2007 voting results on reform of the Lords, see the House of Lords reform: voting results and key information webpage.
Further information on the history of Lords reform:
- House of Lords Reform Since 1999: A Chronology (House of Lords Library Note, July 2008) - an account of the main developments since the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999
- Reform and Proposals for Reform Since 1900 (House of Lords Information Office Briefing Paper) - a short history of the reforms and attempts at reform of the House of Lords before 1999.
How does the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 affect the Lords?
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 received Royal Assent in March 2005 and provides for the separating of the judiciary (legal system) from the legislature (Parliament) and the executive (Government).
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005:
- reformed the office of the Lord Chancellor who, as head of the judiciary, appoints judges
- established an independent Judicial Appointments Commission
- sets up a supreme court, independent from the House of Lords, with its own appointments system, staff, budget and building (from October 2009).
