Research Briefing
Bank Branch closures
An overview of bank branch closures to 2018. Later developments appear in our briefing paper The future of local banking services and access to cash (CBP-9453).
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Research Briefing
Energy imports and exports
After spending most of the previous 25 years as a net exporter of energy the UK became a net importer in 2004. The gap between imports and exports has increased since 2004 and this looks set to continue to increase in the future. This, alongside higher fuel prices and increased concern over the security of energy supply has increased the attention on energy imports and exports.
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Research Briefing
Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Bill 2017-19
Commons Library briefing on the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Bill 2017-19
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Research Briefing
Contested mergers and takeovers
This briefing explains the law on mergers and takeovers, and describes the role and powers of bodies that get involved in the process. Recent developments and cases are also covered.
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Research Briefing
People claiming unemployment benefits by constituency, September 2018
This paper provides figures for the number of people claiming unemployment benefits (the “claimant count”) by parliamentary constituency, as well as a summary of the latest labour market statistics for the UK as a whole. The unemployment rate of 4.0% in June-August 2018 was the joint lowest rate since 1975. Despite falling slightly from the last quarter, the employment rate remains at a very high level historically while the inactivity rate remains at a very low level. The growth in average weekly pay excluding bonuses (not adjusting for inflation) was the highest since January 2009. Despite this, after adjusting for inflation, earnings remain below levels seen before the 2008 downturn.
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Research Briefing
Social Mobility Index by Constituency SMIC
The House of Commons Library's Social Mobility Index by Constituency (SMIC) provides an indication of how likely a person from a disadvantaged background in each constituency is to progress to a higher social status later in life. The SMIC compares constituencies in England using 14 variables which represent four life stages: early years, school age, youth, and adulthood.
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Research Briefing
Media ownership: the proposed 21st Century Fox/Sky merger
This Library briefing paper looks at the proposed merger of 21st Century Fox and Sky plc.
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Research Briefing
Neighbourhood planning
The Localism Act 2011 allows parish councils and groups of people from the community, called neighbourhood forums, to formulate Neighbourhood Development Plans and Orders, to guide and shape development in a particular area. This briefing examines these powers and reviews of their effectiveness and describes recent changes to relevant provisions in the National Planning Policy Framework.
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Research Briefing
Idlib and the prospects for Syria
Idlib, the last stronghold of rebel forces in Syria, has been saved from a full on attack for now, but the civil war phase of the conflict is almost over. What might happen afterwards?
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Research Briefing
Master Trust regulation
Looks at provisions to regulate Master Trusts (a kind of pension scheme used by many employers for auto-enrolment) to be introduced under the Pension Schemes Act 2017.
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Research Briefing
Social Fund Funeral Payments
Payments from the Social Fund can be made to claimants of means-tested benefits and tax credits to help meet the costs of a funeral. Payments are made from the regulated Social Fund and, as such, are not limited by budgetary constraints. 27,000 payments were made in Great Britain in 2016-17, at a total cost of £38.6 million. The average award in 2016-17 was £1,427.
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Research Briefing
Future trade with the EU: Mutual recognition
This paper examines the different ways in which the term 'mutual recognition' is used in the context of the UK's future relationship with the EU.
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Research Briefing
Bank rescues of 2007-09: outcomes and cost
This note sums up the amounts spent and recovered by the government in the bank rescues of the 2007-09 financial crisis.
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Research Briefing
Universal Credit: why are sanction rates higher?
Sanction rates are higher under Universal Credit, the Government's flagship welfare reform, than under the benefits it is replacing. In December 2017 around 0.3% of JSA claimants were currently under a sanction compared to 8.2% of Universal Credit claimants required to search for work though, in the case of UC, this rate has since fallen to 5.3% as of May. This higher rate of sanctioning, the DWP argues and our new analysis corroborates, is due to the way DWP deals with claimants who miss a work-search interview without good reason under Universal Credit compared to under JSA (one of UC's predecessors). Despite this analysis, however, there are still a number of questions relating to sanctions under Universal Credit that we cannot yet answer.
Total results (page 212 of 558)