This briefing paper has been replaced by a new paper on 'Insolvency Practitioners' Fees' (CBP 7402), dated 25 November 2015, which looks in detail at the new provisions of the Insolvency (Amendment) Rules 2015.
The Higher Education Green Paper published on 6 November 2015 makes proposals to reform the higher education system. The paper proposes introducing the Teaching Excellence Framework to assess teaching quality in higher education institutions and reward those with excellent teaching. It will also introduce a single entry route into higher education to level the playing field between public providers and private providers, strengthen activities around access to higher education and abolish the Higher Education Funding Council for England and replace it with a new body the Office for Students. The consultation on the Green Paper closes on 15 January 2016 and it is anticipated that a higher education bill will follow.
This note sets out the current law in England and Wales on the retention of fingerprints and DNA data by the police under the regime introduced by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. It also outlines the background to the changes made by the Act.
The UK is committed to spending 0.7% of its gross national income on aid each year. While this gives a sense of the scale of overall future spending in this area, there are still questions to be answered about exactly how much money is spent, who spends it and where. Some of these questions may
This House of Commons Library paper describes the devolution of electoral arrangements to Wales. The draft Wales Bill published on 20 October 2015 is the latest development in this process. The paper looks at developments since 2012 and discusses debates about the number of constituencies in Wales.
The Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Bill is part of a process to stabilise the political institutions in Northern Ireland. It stems from a package agreed between the UK and Irish Governments and the largest Northern Ireland parties: the Fresh Start agreement. This paper gives a guide to the Bill, and to the agreement.
This is a briefing on the ‘Motion to approve a European document relating to restrictive measures against Iran’, which is due to be debated in the main chamber of the House on Tuesday 24 November 2015.
The Draft Investigatory Powers Bill, published in November 2015, seeks to update and consolidate the legal framework governing the interception of communications and the acquisition of communications data by intelligence and law enforcement agencies
This page has been prepared by the House of Commons Library to provide information on the Local Government Finance (Tenure Information) Bill 2015-16 which is scheduled to receive its Second Reading on 22 January 2016 (initially 30 October 2015).
This morning, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published new earnings data showing differences in pay across parliamentary constituencies, as illustrated in the map below. The Median weekly pay of full-time employees was highest for people living in London (at £621 per week in April 2015) and lowest in Yorkshire and the Humber (£481 per
On 26 October 2015 the Government was defeated in the House of Lords following a debate on its proposed changes to tax credits. The Chancellor responded that the Government would “continue to reform tax credits and save the money needed so that Britain lives within its means, while at the same time lessening the impact