Research Briefing
Unemployment by Constituency, June 2015
This paper contains labour market figures for parliamentary constituencies, as well as a summary of the latest national and regional statistics.
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Research Briefing
Landfill Tax (Qualifying Fines) Order 2015
Following a consultation exercise, in December 2014 the Coalition Government confirmed that from 1 April 2015, landfill site operators would be able to use a new 'Loss on Ignition' (LOI) test, to ensure they charged the right rate of landfill tax on 'fines' - residual waste from waste processing. Operators would be able to charge the lower rate of tax on 'fines' meeting certain criteria. This Order would introduce the new test. It is not expected to have an Exchequer impact.
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Research Briefing
Introduction of Personal Independence Payment
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is replacing Disability Living Allowance for people of working age. Following its introduction for new claims in April 2013 there were problems with the claims process, with some claimants waiting six months or more for a decision. The previous Government said that, as a result of actions it was taking, by autumn 2014 no PIP claimant would have to wait more than six months for an assessment and by the end of 2014 no one would have to wait more than 16 weeks.
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Research Briefing
EU Treaty change: the parliamentary process of bills
How does Parliament deal with EU Treaty amendments? Is primary legislation needed to implement them? This briefing looks at the parliamentary process of bills linked to the ratification of EU Treaty amendments and compares the amount of time spent on the major EU Treaties since the UK joined the European Economic Community in 1973.
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Research Briefing
The Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015
This Act builds on existing Government initiatives, particularly the proposed ‘Right to Build’, with the aim of increasing the number of self/custom built properties in England. This note explains the Act's provisions.
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Research Briefing
Communications Data: The 2012 draft Bill and recent developments
A draft Communications Data Bill was introduced and scrutinised by Parliament in 2012-13. The draft Bill, referred to by critics as a “snooper’s charter”, was not taken forward, following opposition from the Liberal Democrats. The Queen's Speech in 2015 promised an Investigatory Powers Bill, which is expected to replicate features of the earlier draft Bill.
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Research Briefing
The Living Wage
The living wage is an hourly rate of pay set annually by reference to the basic cost of living in the UK and London. The current living wage is £7.85 per hour outside London and £9.15 per hour in London.
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Research Briefing
Turkey’s 2015 elections: a change of direction?
What's next for Turkey? The AKP has lost power after 13 years in government, following a surge in support for the Kurdish HDP. Coalition negotiations may be underway, but fresh elections loom, and the uncertainty is likely to damage Turkey.
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Research Briefing
Endowment mortgages
The endowment mortgage mis-selling scandal was the first and largest financial scandal of this century. It shaped both the new regualtor and the then new office of Financial Ombudsman.
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Research Briefing
Comparative Prison Sentences in the EU
This briefing provides a downloadable tool which allows the user to make a graphical comparison of unsuspended custodial sentences for like crimes across the EU. Two countries may be selected for comparison of nine different offence types, with graphs showing the percentage of custodial sanctions awarded by sentence length.
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Research Briefing
Do sanctions work?
There are now many analysts who argue that sanctions do work, partly because of their increasingly sophisticated design. However, evidence remains mixed at best. Politicians may be finding them useful for other things than their stated aim of causing 'rogue' countries to choose a different policy
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Research Briefing
Carers’ rights and benefits (England)
An overview of rights and benefits afforded to carers in law, covering local authority assessments, employment rights, benefits and protection from discrimination.
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Research Briefing
Iraq: calls for an inquiry and historical precedents
There were repeated calls for an inquiry into the 2003 invasion of Iraq from 2003 until the announcement of the Chilcot Inquiry in 2009
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Research Briefing
New Psychoactive Substances
This briefing paper has been withdrawn. It has been replaced by the Library briefing on the Psychoactive Substance Bill 2015.
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Research Briefing
Scotland Bill 2015-16
The Commons Library's briefing note on the Scotland Bill 2015-16.
Total results (page 285 of 560)