Research Briefing
This Note gives a guide to the official documents, parliamentary reports and research briefings on reform of the House of Lords since the publication of the Government’s House of Lords Reform Draft Bill in May 2011.
Research Briefing
This Note lists the amendments made to the Scotland Bill in the House of Lords. Significant amendments were made in committee and, in particular, on report following an agreement between the UK and Scottish Governments. The Note does not cover amendments that were proposed but not agreed. It therefore summarises the Government amendments and gives a guide to the Bill in its final form. Lords amendments were considered in the Commons on 26 April 2012, and all were agreed.
Research Briefing
This note reproduces the terms of reference for the Commission, and puts them in the context of the Holtham Commission on funding reform in Wales, the fiscal changes proposed for Scotland in the Scotland Bill, and the changes made to the powers of the National Assembly for Wales in May 2011. The Commission will aim to report on fiscal powers in autumn 2012, and on constitutional matters by spring 2014. It is led by Paul Silk, former Clerk to the National Assembly for Wales.
Research Briefing
The Scottish Parliament’s Scotland Bill Committee has recommended that consent for this legislation should be withheld unless significant changes are made to the Bill. This note traces developments since the Bill’s committee stage in the Commons, including amendments made on report, second reading in the Lords, the Scottish Government’s position, and the report of the Committee.
Research Briefing
This note explores the concept of the 'West Lothian Question' in the light of the devolution settlements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1999.
Research Briefing
The Sovereign Grant Bill concerns the way in which the monarchy is funded. It seeks to replace the Civil List and other grants that support the Queen’s official duties with a new Sovereign Grant, based on a percentage of the profits of the Crown Estate. The new grant is designed to deliver at first a broadly similar level of finance in cash terms to what is available at present. There are mechanisms for adjusting the level in future, and for using any significant surplus as a means to reduce the grant. The Sovereign Grant is intended to be a typical government grant that will lead to the royal finances being audited by the National Audit Office, and subjected to full parliamentary scrutiny.
Research Briefing
This is a report on the Commons committee stage of the Scotland Bill 2010-12. Introduced to the House of Commons on 30 November 2010, its second reading was on 27 January 2011, and its committee stage took place on the floor of the House on 7, 14 and 15 March 2011. Report and third reading are scheduled for 21 June 2011. On 13 June 2011 the Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore, announced a package of changes to the Bill in response to issues that had been raised in the UK and Scottish Parliaments, and by the Scottish Government.
Research Briefing
This Paper examines the progress of the Bill during its House of Commons Committee Stage. Further detail on the Bill is available in Research Paper 11/17, prepared for the Second Reading of the Bill.
Research Briefing
On 3 March 2011 a referendum was held in Wales to decide whether the National Assembly for Wales should gain the power to legislate on a wider range of matters in one go. This was in contrast to the previous situation, in which it had to gain approval from the UK Parliament each time it wanted to expand the range of matters. This note gives an account of the referendum campaign and vote, and the implications of this in constitutional terms
Research Briefing
The Legislation (Territorial Extent) Bill is a Private Member’s Bill. The Bill applies to draft primary legislation and to secondary legislation published before the parent Act has gained Royal Assent. In these cases, it requires that the draft contain a statement setting out its legal effects on each nation of the United Kingdom, and that a memorandum accompany the draft showing its financial effects on each nation.
Research Briefing
The Scotland Bill was published on 30 November 2010, and is scheduled for second reading on 27 January 2011. The Bill contains provisions to give the Scottish Parliament greater responsibility for raising its own revenue, in addition the borrowing powers of the Scottish Government are extended. The Bill also changes the boundary of devolved powers by amending some of the reserved matters in the Scotland Act 1998. Some new matters are devolved, some are reserved. The Bill also proposes small changes to provisions concerning the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government.
Research Briefing
A referendum on the powers of the National Assembly for Wales is planned for 3 March 2011. This Note outlines the three Orders that will bring about the referedum and govern the procedures appyling to it, which were laid by the Secretary of State for Wales on 21 October 2010.
Research Briefing
Some Members representing Welsh constituencies called for a meeting of the Welsh Grand Committee in order to discuss the impact on Wales of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010. The Secretary of State, Cheryl Gillan, declined. This Note gives a very brief account of the business of the Committee and a list of its previous meetings.
Research Briefing
This Note explains the current arrangements under which the Assembly legislates, the new approach if the referendum on law making powers approves a change, and how the move to a referendum has come about.
Research Briefing
This note traces the progress of the Bill, with links to the relevant portions of Hansard, and discusses the amendments.
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