Constitution Committee to hear from Lord Hain and Lord Salisbury on devolution
The House of Lords Constitution Committee will tomorrow take evidence from Lord Salisbury and Lord Hain from the Constitution Reform Group on the union and devolution. The session will be Lord Hain's first appearance before a parliamentary committee since joining the House of Lords.
Also giving evidence to the Committee will be representatives of the Trades Union Congress, Locality and the Electoral Reform Society.
The evidence sessions will start at 10:30am on Wednesday 13 January in Committee Room 1 of the House of Lords.
10:30am Lord Salisbury, Constitution Reform Group
Lord Hain, Constitution Reform Group
Daniel Greenberg, Constitution Reform Group
11:00am Paul Nowak, Assistant General Secretary, Trades Union Congress
Tony Armstrong, Chief Executive, Locality
11:45am Professor Matthew Flinders, University of Sheffield
Katie Ghose, Chief Executive, Electoral Reform Society
In the first session the Committee's questions will focus on the Constitution Reform Group's ongoing work, including its September 2015 Discussion Paper ‘Towards a New Act of Union'. This discussion will cover devolution in England, including whether legislative power should be devolved to England as part of the devolution process, and the ‘English Votes for English Laws' procedures adopted by the House of Commons.
In the second session, questions will touch on how variations in government policies across the nations and regions of the UK affects the work of trade unions and the voluntary sector. They will also cover the importance of the sharing of risks and resources and whether there should be UK minimum standards of public services and welfare levels following the increasing devolution of powers over these areas.
