• Research Briefing

    Vellum: printing record copies of public Acts

    This House of Commons Library Briefing paper provides information about the practice of printing record copies of public Acts. It includes information on the practice of printing on vellum was established, and on the decisions in 2015 and 2016 that led to the printing of record copies of Acts on archival paper.

  • Research Briefing

    People claiming unemployment benefits by constituency, July 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 April-June 2018 was at its lowest level since 1975, while the employment rate remains at a very high level and the inactivity rate was at a very low level. The growth in earnings was relatively weak. Average weekly pay excluding bonuses grew faster than prices, while pay including bonuses grew at a similar rate to prices.

  • Research Briefing

    Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018

    This paper outlines the provisions of the Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018, explains those issues which were raised during its passage through Parliament, and provides some background as to where the Act has come from and what issues it is designed to address.

  • Research Briefing

    Water quality

    This Commons Library Briefing Paper examines water quality in the UK, including EU requirements and potential impacts of Brexit. It sets out some key facts and figures for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, explains how water quality is measured and discusses action being taken by the Government to manage and improve water quality.

  • Research Briefing

    Neighbourhood Watch

    Neighbourhood Watch was first introduced into Britain in 1982. It works by developing close liaison between households in a neighbourhood and the local police. The schemes are known as either Neighbourhood Watch or Home Watch.

  • Research Briefing

    People claiming unemployment benefits by constituency, June 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 UK employment rate was at a record high of 75.7% in March-May 2018, the inactivity rate was at a joint record low of 21.0% and the unemployment rate was at its joint lowest level since 1975 at 4.2%. Average weekly pay grew slightly faster than prices, both including and excluding bonuses.

  • Research Briefing

    Brexit: Customs and Regulatory Arrangements

    This paper considers the proposals the UK Government has made to satisfy the simultaneous objectives to leave the EU Customs Union, but have a cooperative ‘customs arrangement’ following Brexit; and to leave the Single Market, but maintain trade that is ‘as frictionless as possible’ following Brexit. These proposals have to navigate the EU’s ‘red lines’, primarily the ones that preclude sectoral agreements (or ‘cherry-picking’), and that guarantee an invisible land border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

  • Research Briefing

    Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards

    This House of Commons Library briefing explains what Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are, their purpose and the process which is followed in order to authorise a deprivation of liberty. The paper outlines the Law Commission's recommendations to abolish DoLS and replace them with a new system called the Liberty Protection Safeguards. The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill was introduced to the House of Lords on 3 July 2018. The Bill broadly follows the Law Commission’s recommendations, with some changes.