House of Lords
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on the House of Lords. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 06.03.2013 | Women: International Women's Day 2013, Background & statistics |
| Background statistics for International Women's Day 2013. Women are 51% of the population but only 22% of MPs; 23% of judges and 31% of local councillors | |
| 15.11.2012 | Ministers in the House of Lords |
| This note considers how the number of ministers and Cabinet ministers in the House of Lords has changed in recent history. It considers briefly the accountability arrangements for the latter and it looks at the appointment of 'outside' ministerial appointments to the Lords. | |
| 12.11.2012 | PIL: Parliaments held away from Westminster |
| Parliaments held away from Westminster. | |
| 12.11.2012 | PIL: Meeting Places of the Houses of Parliament at Westminster |
| Meeting places of Parliament at Westminster other than the two main chambers. | |
| 25.09.2012 | House of Lords Reform Bill 2012-13: decision not to proceed |
| The House of Lords Reform Bill 2012-13 had its second reading in the Commons on 9 and 10 July 2012. While the vote on second reading was won, 91 Conservative Members voted against, and the Government did not move its programme motion, meaning that the Bill was not sent to committee. On 6 August 2012 Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that the Bill would not proceed further. On 3 September 2012 he confirmed that it had been withdrawn. This Note summarises the events leading to the abandonment of the Bill, and considers Lord Steel's House of Lords (Cessation of Membership) Bill, which some see as a more modest alternative. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 04.07.2012 | House of Lords Reform Bill 2012-13 |
| This Research Paper discusses the House of Lords Reform Bill 2012-13, placing it in the context of the previous draft bill and wider debates on the subject. | |
| 25.02.2010 | Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill: Committee stage report |
| There were some significant amendments during the Committee Stage of this Bill. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority was given control over setting Members' pay and pensions by amendments to the Parliamentary Standard Act 2009. There is to be a new Compliance Officer to investigate alleged misuse of Members' allowances; amendments would ensure that all MPs and peers would be liable to UK taxes; there would be a referendum on whether to adopt the Alternative Vote by 31 October 2011; and a new requirement on Returning Officers to begin election counts four hours after a general election poll closes. | |
| 04.12.2007 | House of Lords - Developments since January 2004 |
| 18.05.2004 | Parliamentary pay and allowances |
| Parliamentary pay and allowances. House of Commons Library Research Paper 04/40. (Replaces Research Paper 03/64). | |
| 25.11.2003 | House of Lords developments since 2002 |
| House of Lords: developments since 2002. House of Commons Library Research Paper 03/85. |
Select Committee Reports
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 26.03.2012 | Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee. |
| Procedure Select Committee (HL) report [Lords] | |
| 22.03.2012 | House Committee (HL) third report on Grand Committee and Select Committee Resources. |
| House Committee (HL) report [Lords] | |
| 20.03.2012 | House of Lords Liaison Committee third report. |
| House of Lords Liaison Committee report [Lords] | |
| 01.11.2011 | Proposals arising from the Report of the Leader's Group on Working Practices. |
| Procedure Select Committee (HL) report [Lords] | |
| 20.07.2011 | Information Select Committee (HL) first report on Annual Report 2010-11. |
| Information Select Committee (HL) report [Lords] |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 16.11.2010 | DRAFT STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS ON NUCLEAR JUSTIFICATION |
| That this House notes the recommendations of the Tenth Report of the House of Lords Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee, published on 5 November, in respect of the draft Justification ... | |
| 02.07.2009 | CONDUCT OF LORD JAY AND THE LORDS APPOINTMENT COMMITTEE |
| That this House is dismayed by the report in the Guardian newspaper that the Noble Lord Jay, Chairman of the Lords Appointment Committee, has written to the Prime Minister warning that ... | |
| 07.10.2008 | GOVERNMENT MINISTERS IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS |
| That this House notes the appointment of a new Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to the House of Lords; further notes that the lead Minister for this ... | |
| 12.12.2007 | FRAUD PROSECUTIONS |
| That this House congratulates the US corporate fraud prosecuting authorities upon the conviction of Conrad Black; notes the failure of the equivalent UK authorities to secure convictions ... | |
| 11.12.2007 | CONDUCT OF LORD BLACK OF CROSSHARBOUR AND MEMBERSHIP OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS |
| That this House notes the conviction in the United States of Lord Black of Crossharbour on charges of fraud and obstruction of justice; and believes that the rules for disqualification ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 25.06.2013 | Extension of Franchise (House of Lords) Bill [HL] |
| This Library Note provides background information on the disqualification of Peers from voting at elections to the House of Commons, in anticipation of the second reading of Lord Dubs' Private Member's Bill on this issue on 5 July. | |
| 11.10.2012 | House of Lords: Reform of Working Practices, 2000-2012 |
| This Library Note summarises significant proposals to change working practices and procedures in the House of Lords. | |
| 24.08.2012 | Select Committees in the House of Lords |
| This Library Note provides a history of select committees in the House of Lords and gives an overview of current select committee activity. | |
| 26.07.2012 | Public Attitudes Towards the House of Lords and House of Lords Reform |
| This Library Note provides information on public attitudes towards the House of Lords, and reform of the House, using the findings of various opinion polls. | |
| 27.06.2012 | House of Lords: Party and Group Strengths and Voting |
| This Library Note presents statistics on the relative size of the political parties and other groups in the House of Lords in recent years, as well as selected figures on voting behaviour in the House. | |
| 12.06.2012 | Peerage Creations since 1997 |
| This House of Lords Library Note provides details of appointments to the House of Lords since May 1997. |
