Research Briefing
OP sheep dip
This note discusses sheep farmers concerns that their health has been damaged by using organophosphate sheep dips
Research Briefing
This note discusses sheep farmers concerns that their health has been damaged by using organophosphate sheep dips
Research Briefing
This paper gives an overview of transport policy in the UK in 2010. It examines a range of issues related to transport policy, including policy-makers, spending on and sources of funding for transport, the transport policy of the main political parties, and the challenges in formulating transport policy in 2010.
Research Briefing
This note describes the structure of the rail industry following privatisation by the Railways Act 1993. It is intended to give a factual account and only briefly touches on the issues involved in reaching decisions about the form of privatisation chosen or its shortcomings.
Research Briefing
This paper shows the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance recorded as resident in each constituency in the United Kingdom in February 2010, together with comparisons with the levels in February 2009 and February 1997. Residence-based unemployment rates are given for all 646 constituencies in the United Kingdom. The paper includes unemployment rates by constituency maps and an annual percentage change map, as well as a summary of the latest labour market data.
Research Briefing
This Note gives the background to the 1996 Act which legislated for the building of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link; details on the scheme post-1996 can be found iin SN/BT/267.
Research Briefing
This Note provides background to the WCML upgrade project completed in December 2008.
Research Briefing
Summarises responses from individual European governments and from the EU.
Research Briefing
All firms undertaking sale and rent back agreements now have to be authorised by the FSA, so giving consumers greater protection. A key feature of the full regime will be that all consumers who undertake a sale and rent back agreement will have a guaranteed minimum tenancy of five years.
Research Briefing
This Paper is a summary of many of the financial services legislative initiatives announced by the EU in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis in 2008/9.
Research Briefing
This note sets out the economic and public finance background to the 2010 Budget.
Research Briefing
The purpose of the Bill is to amend existing legislation governing the relationship between insurers and claimants, with specific regard to 'third parties', to make it easier and less expensive to claim compensation from insolvent defendants. Current legislation dictates that claimants must establish an insolvent defendant's liability before bringing a separate claim against their insurer. The Bill would enable claimants to sue the insolvent defendant's insurer directly, without having to sue the wrongdoer first. The Bill's provisions are largely uncontroversial, and have widespread support from the majority of stakeholders.
Research Briefing
This note explains the Government's approach to rural transport.
Research Briefing
BAE Systems was accused of corruption, specifically making bribes, in regard to the Al Yamamah arms agreement with the Saudi Arabian Government. This was investigated by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) following the leaking of a letter from the then Director of the SFO to the former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence. The SFO discontinued its inquiry in December 2006, citing the need to safeguard national and international security, a move which was supported by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair. A legal challenge that the SFO's decision was unlawful was not successful. In addition to the allegations surrounding Al Yamamah, parallel SFO investigations were also conducted into a number of other BAE defence contracts in South Africa, Chile, the Czech Republic, Romania, Tanzania and Qatar. In February 2010, BAE Systems reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to plead guilty of conspiring to make false statements to the US Government in connection with certain regulatory filings and undertakings, including the Al Yamamah agreement as well as contracts with the Hungarian and Czech governments. In March 2010, BAE Systems pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States by impairing and impeding its lawful functions, to make false statements about its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act compliance program, and to violate the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations. It was given a $400 million fine and agreed to take measures in order to stay within US and foreign laws concerning corruption and the exports of arms. The company also agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years to assess its compliance program and to make a series of reports to the company and the DoJ. This Standard Note is referred to in the Research Paper, The Bribery Bill (RP 10/19).
Research Briefing
The Bill would establish an independent ombudsman for the grocery market to oversee the operation of the Groceries Supply Code of Practice. It would provide for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), within three months of the Bill's enactment, to establish the Office of the Grocery Market Ombudsman and a person as the Grocery Market Ombudsman. Although funded by the OFT, the Ombudsman would be independent of it and would investigate complaints or disputes referred by the OFT, retailers or suppliers. The Ombudsman's determination would be final and binding on all parties and they would have the power to impose monetary penalties and/or costs.
Research Briefing
This Note brings together documents relevant to the "Services Directive", its scrutiny in the UK and EU, and its implementation in the UK.
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