Research Briefing
What is an EU (Approvals) Bill and why is one needed now? This Bill concerns draft EU proposals concerning Albania and Serbia participating as observers in the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency, and an agreement between the EU and Canada on competition laws. This paper provides background on the proposals and explains why an Act of Parliament is needed for the UK Government to approve them in the Council of the European Union.
Research Briefing
As the 2017 Parliament grapples with the constitutional challenges of Brexit, it will also have a range of internal ‘housekeeping’ and electoral issues to consider, with the potential to make Parliament look and feel very different at the next election. Some issues are current (constituency boundary reviews and renovation of the Palace of Westminster). Others
Research Briefing
Press reports suggest that jobs could be at risk as automation technologies are deployed. What might be automated, how might it affect the UK and when? Developments in robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) are making it possible to automate activities that previously could only be done by humans, and to assist workers with tasks that
Research Briefing
An introduction and reference guide to the key schools-related topics in Northern Ireland
Research Briefing
Scotland and Wales will receive no additional funding as a result of the agreement reached yesterday between the Conservative Government and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Some thought that the Barnett formula would see Scotland and Wales benefit indirectly from the agreement’s promise of financial support to Northern Ireland. The Government has stated clearly that
Research Briefing
The ‘tax lock’ expired with the end of the 2015-17 Parliament During the 2015 General Election campaign both main parties made commitments not to increase the headline rates of the three taxes that are the three largest sources of government revenues: income tax, National Insurance contributions (NICs), and VAT. The Conservative Party’s 2015 manifesto ruled
Research Briefing
Looks at changes to the tax treatment of foreign pensions in the Finance Act 2017
Research Briefing
This brief outlines the issues involved with corporate economic crime and the measures taken, principally to reduce bribery and corruption..
Research Briefing
The Conservative Government insisted that it had protected total core school funding in real terms over the last Parliament. However, as the National Audit Office (NAO) and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) pointed out, pupil numbers have been rising and schools are facing cost pressures; the money has to go further. The previous Government
Research Briefing
By historical standards, growth in household incomes over the past decade has been severely disappointing. In the long run, living standards as measured using real average incomes (i.e. adjusted for inflation) tend to improve over time, but the economic downturn in 2008 resulted in a prolonged period of weak earnings growth. Average incomes continued to
Research Briefing
Significant measures to improve public health in the last Parliament included the introduction of standardised packaging for tobacco products and the soft drinks industry levy. However, the consensus from health organisations is that more could be done to prevent illness and promote long-term health. Obesity continues to be a significant public health challenge, and one
Research Briefing
Key Issues 2017 is a series of short briefings on the topics that will take centre stage in UK and international politics in the new Parliament. Written by impartial Commons Library specialists, these articles are designed to help the reader get up to speed quickly on issues such as; Brexit, the housing crisis, the future of devolution and much more.
Research Briefing
The newly-elected House of Commons includes some MPs who have been in Parliament for years, and others who have been elected for the first time. How does the level of parliamentary experience in this Parliament compare to previous Parliaments? How experienced is the average MP compared to past Parliaments? The following chart shows the mean
Research Briefing
After high-profile tribunal claims against Uber and CitySprint, what is the status of most gig economy workers and what employment law protections do they have?
Research Briefing
For the first time in over 40 years, the new Parliament will be able to create UK-specific agriculture and fisheries policies separately from the EU. The final Brexit arrangements, and free trade deals negotiated with Europe and other countries, could therefore have long-lasting implications for British fishing and farming. While policies need to be determined
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