This House of Commons Library briefing paper sets out the background to the creation of the office of Lord Speaker in 2006. It reviews developments in and proposals for the role since then. It also provides the results of elections in 2006, 2011 and 2016.
What are EU directives and what will happen to them when the UK leaves the EU? This paper looks at EU directives in force and how they are implemented in the UK. This will give some idea of the task ahead for UK legislators.
This Commons Library research briefing provides information about direct financial support for 16-19 bursaries for young people in further education in England. It covers eligibility criteria, the scheme's impact, and includes some background on the predecessor Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) scheme.
The Renewable Heat Incentive aims to support households and businesses to generate renewable heat for their buildings. Several changes are being made to the scheme in 2017
The Government raised the cap on tuition fees for new student to £9,000 in 2012/13 and cut most ongoing direct public funding for tuition in England. This shifted the balance of higher education funding further away from the state and further towards the individual who benefits. Students can take out publicly subsided student loans to pay these higher fees. There is uncertainty about the final size of this subsidy and the Government’s estimate of it has increased considerably since the reforms were first announced. This also affects the size of any saving in public expenditure and the extent of the shift in costs from the state to the individual beneficiary.
This House of Commons Library briefing provides an overview of the extensive reforms to GCSE, AS and A level qualifications undertaken by the Coalition and Conservative Governments.
This House of Commons Library briefing paper provides historical background to the introduction and impact of rent control and its continued application until January 1989.
This House of Commons Library Briefing Paper outlines the Government's view that House of Lords reform is not a priority in this Parliament. It also discusses pressure from members of the House of Lords to address their concerns about the size of the House of Lords.
This Commons Library briefing paper provides a summary of the state of the UK offshore oil and gas industries and outlines the industry, the regulatory framework and key challenges for the industry.
This paper sets out the main changes to direct tax rates and allowances announced in the Budget on 8 March 2017. It lists the principal personal allowances which will be available against income tax in the tax year 2016/17, and it outlines the conditions necessary for eligibility for these allowances. The paper provides a summary of the general tax position in straightforward cases only. It should be noted that it deals just with tax allowances. No reference is made to cash benefits provided under the social security system, or to child tax credit and working tax credit.
This Commons Library research briefing provides information about the Government's to increase the number of medical school places in England by 1,500, starting from September 2018. This paper has been updated with details of the related Department of Health consultation, which opened on 14 March 2017.
Data on migrants and benefits is incomplete and fragmented, not routinely available from a single source. This is because the nationality of benefit claimants is not routinely gathered by either DWP or HMRC when administering benefits or tax credits. This paper brings together the main available data sources – including DWP data on National Insurance Number registrations, departmental ad-hoc releases and responses to Freedom of Information requests – to analyse rates of benefit and tax credits receipt among migrants living in the UK.