Terry McGuinness

High-cost credit covers a range of financial products including bank overdrafts, loans, buy-now-pay-later and rent-to-own. Each product has its own benefits to consumers, but they also carry a risk of consumer harm, especially for vulnerable customers. This harm may include high repayment costs and a greater risk of problem debt. The regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, has been taking action to reduce this harm and it has ongoing monitoring work in this area. This briefing describes the action that has been taken over recent years to stop unfair high-cost credit practices and gives information on the support available to those who find themselves in problem debt.

This Commons Library briefing paper provides an overview of the Home Secretary's powers to deport foreign criminals from the UK, related Government policy and Parliamentary and external scrutiny of the efficiency of current procedures.

This Commons Library research briefing contains a list of commonly-used terms and acronyms that have needed clarification since the United Kingdom voted in the June 2016 EU referendum.

The Common Travel Area is a special travel zone between the Republic of Ireland and the UK, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. It dates back to the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. This briefing focuses on how the CTA operates between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Legal aid for representation at an inquest is generally only available through the “exceptional funding” criteria of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, which came into force on 1 April 2013.

This Library briefing paper provides an overview of the policy and practice of immigration detention in the UK. It addresses long standing criticisms as well as the recent reforms designed to reduce the numbers of vulnerable people detained and the duration of detention.

A Westminster Hall debate on Fees for registering children as British citizens is scheduled for Tuesday 4 September 2018 at 11.30am. The Member leading the debate is Stuart C McDonald MP.

A Westminster Hall debate entitled "Government policy on visas for non-EEA workers on inshore fishing vessels" is scheduled for Tuesday 17 July at 9.30am. The Member leading the debate is Douglas Ross MP.

A Westminster Hall debate on E-petition 216539 relating to people who entered the UK as minors between 1948 and 1971 is scheduled for Monday 30 April 2018 at 4.30pm. The debate is scheduled by the Petitions Committee and will be opened by Steve Double MP, a member of the Petitions Committee.

This pack has been produced ahead of the debate on the Effect of the Government's Migration Policy on the Economy, to be held in Westminster Hall on Wednesday 29 November 2017 at 9.30am, and led by Rt Hon Mark Harper MP. This briefing provides detail on trends in migration and their economic impacts, current migration policy, and migration policy after Brexit.

Controversial maintenance funds requirements were introduced for spouse/ partner visas (affecting non-EEA national partners of British citizens, refugees and people settled in the UK) in July 2012. The Supreme Court has upheld the requirements as lawful in principle, but did require the Government to make some changes to how they are applied in practice. These changes came into effect in August 2017.

What happened in round five of the Brexit negotiations - the last scheduled round in phase one? Did the EU negotiator, Michel Barnier, and the other 27 EU Member State leaders think "sufficient progress" had been made in the priority areas to move on to a discussion of the UK's future relations with the EU? And what about a transition period or the possibility of a 'no deal' scenario? Has the Government planned for this? This note looks at what happened in the October round and other Brexit issues.