Research Briefing
Four million (15% of) households in the UK are not connected to the mains gas grid and their average fuel costs are signifiantly higher than those with a mains gas supply. A Private Members Bill presented by Mike Weir MP aims to help older off-grid households by bringing forward the timing of Winter Fuel Payments to enable them to purchase fuel at a time of year when prices are likely to be lower.
Research Briefing
This note looks at long-running concerns about the dominance of the four major supermarkets in the UK groceries market - and the two inquiries undertaken by the competition authorities in the last decade.
Research Briefing
Olympic Britain tells the story of the profound economic and social change in the UK since the two previous London Olympics, in 1908 and 1948, using statistics and expert analysis. The book can also be browsed using the Parliament website at www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/olympic-britain/
Research Briefing
This Private Member's Bill makes provision for expeditions in Antartica to have contingency plans to deal with environmental emergencies.
Research Briefing
The unique treaty system that protects the Antarctic is constantly updated and sometimes challenged. A current Private Member’s Bill would implement recent changes in the UK.
Research Briefing
This note deals with several issues related to horticulture, including the problem of invasive species and the supply of foreign workers
Research Briefing
This note looks at the increasingly high-profile problem of metal theft, which the Association of Chief Police Officers has estimated costs the UK economy approximately £770 million per year. There have been calls to reform the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 to tighten up controls on scrap metal dealers. In January 2012 the Government announced that it would be amending the 1964 Act to introduce a ban on cash payments for scrap metal and unlimited fines for relevant offences under the Act. These changes are set out in sections 145 to 147 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. In June 2012 Richard Ottaway introduced a Private Member's Bill that proposes to repeal the 1964 Act altogether and replace it with a new regulatory regime. The Bill has Government support.
Research Briefing
The Scrap Metal Dealers Bill seeks to introduce a more robust regulatory regime for scrap metal dealers to reduce the opportunities for metal thieves to sell stolen material.
Research Briefing
This note describes how dairy farmers faced low prices for several years but saw some improvement in 2007 and 2008.
Research Briefing
Scientists at CERN have announced the discovery of a new subatomic particle, thought to be the Higgs Boson.
Research Briefing
This notes covers the transposition on the EU Directive on animal experiments and the concerns raised about stray animals.
Research Briefing
this note covers issues of importance to sheep farming, including welfare, electronic tagging and diseases
Research Briefing
This note describes the European Commission proposals to amend the Common Agricultural Policy and comments upon it from interested parties.
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