• Research Briefing

    Child Poverty Bill: Committee Stage Report. Bill 10 2009-10.

    The Bill fulfils the Government’s commitment made in September 2008 to enshrine the 2020 child poverty target in legislation. It establishes four separate child poverty targets to be met by 2020/21, requires the UK Government to publish a regular UK child poverty strategy, requires the Scottish and Northern Irish Ministers to publish child poverty strategies, establishes a Child Poverty Commission to provide advice, requires the UK Government to publish annual progress reports, and places new duties on local authorities and other “delivery partners”’ in England to work together to tackle child poverty.

  • Research Briefing

    Financial Services Bill. Bill 6 2009-10.

    This is the third piece of financial services legislation since 2007 to respond to the banking and financial crisis. It does however, include other measures designed to improve the position of financial services customers. It creates a Council for Financial Stability to co-ordinate the responsibilities and action of the Bank, FSA and Treasury with respect to financial stability matters. It enhances and extends the powers of the FSA and gives it new duties. Lastly, amongst other consumer protection measures, it provides for collective consumer legal action to be taken in cases of multiple claimants against financial companies. The Bill applies to the whole of the UK.

  • Research Briefing

    Climate change levy

    The climate change levy was introduced in April 2001, charged on electricity, gas, liquefied petroleum gas and solid fuels, when supplied to business. This note gives a short history of the levy, and the impact it has had in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

  • Research Briefing

    Equality Bill : Committee stage report

    Legislation to outlaw discrimination has existed for over 40 years. Typically, new Acts have had as their focus one area of policy, for example, pay, equal treatment of women, race discrimination etc. Almost inevitably, the body of current law, introduced piece meal over such a long period, has developed inconsistencies of both content and approach. As well as introducing new requirements one of the main aims of this Bill is to harmonise existing law into a more coherent whole.

  • Research Briefing

    Unemployment by constituency, October 2009

    This paper shows the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance recorded as resident in each constituency in the United Kingdom in October 2009, together with comparisons with the levels in October 2008 and October 1997. Residence-based unemployment rates are given for all 646 constituencies in the United Kingdom. A summary of the latest labour market data is given, along with a selection of other relevant constituency-level indicators

  • Research Briefing

    Cyprus: a political and economic overview

    Cyprus has been divided between the Greek community in the south and the Turkish community in the north since 1974. 2008 brought a renew sense of optimism to those eager for a reunification settlement, but this has now receded somewhat, with suggestions that a 'window of opportunity' may close in the spring of 2010. The economic situation - slowing in the south and already poor in the north - could be further damaged if there is no settlement deal.

  • Research Briefing

    Newspaper and magazine distribution agreements: competition issues

    This note explains the competition issues associated with newspaper and magazine distribution agreements including: whether the distribution agreements which restrict distribution territories are compatible with competition law; the decision to let the National Newspaper Code of Practice lapse; and the OFT's September 2009 decision not to refer the sector to the Competition Commission

  • Research Briefing

    The Future For Green Taxes

    This paper sets out to explain environmental taxes and their use in the context of existing and forthcoming policy and legislation; it does not explore the arguments surrounding climate change science. In particular this paper sets out: how green taxes are defined; the arguments for and against their use; Labour government policy on green taxation; the new context for environmental taxation in terms of climate change targets; and proposals for the future use of green taxes.

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