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
If Scotland became independent, would it automatically remain a member of the European Union (EU) – or would it have to go through the whole accession process for new Member States, either alone or alongside the rest of the UK?
Research Briefing
This note aims to give an update on the political events in Northern Ireland from October 2008 to March 2009.
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
The SNP gained an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament in the elections on 5 May 2011. The paper provides data on voting trends and electoral turnout for constituencies, electoral regions, and for Scotland as a whole.
Research Briefing
Elections on 5 May 2011 resulted in little change in the overall party composition of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Gains and losses by individual parties involved just one or two seats. 108 Assembly Members were elected by Single Transferrable Vote, 6 Members for each of 18 constituencies. Following the 2011 elections the two largest parties in the Assembly are the DUP (38 MLAs) and Sinn Féin (29 MLAs).
Research Briefing
This Research Paper provides summary and detailed results of the fourth elections to the National Assembly for Wales, which took place on 5 May 2011.
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.
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