Research Briefing
Summer Budget 2015 included proposals to reduce the income threshold for tax credits – the amount families can earn before their award starts to reduce – and to increase the “taper” – the rate at which tax credits are withdrawn as family income increases – from 41% to 48%. The changes were to have taken
Research Briefing
In response to the recent terrorist attacks in Paris France invoked Article 42(7) of the Treaty in the European Union on 17 November 2015. That article obligates all EU Member States to provide France with aid and assistance, although it does not go so far as to confer a security commitment, akin to NATO's Article V. This paper looks briefly at Article 42(7) TEU and the implications for the UK.
Research Briefing
"Ever closer union" is an EU aim and is enshrined in the EU Treaties. David Cameron wanted to exempt the UK from it, and this has been achieved in the new settlement for the UK in the EU. This note looks at the background to “ever closer union”, its survival through several Treaty changes and its use by the EU Court of Justice.
Research Briefing
The House of Commons is debating a Backbench Business motion on 16 November 2015 that calls for the Cypriot city of Famagusta to be returned by Turkey to its ‘lawful inhabitants’.
Research Briefing
How democratic is the UK’s ‘democratic conscience’?
Research Briefing
This note provides a short history to the events that lead up to the establishment of the Groceries Code Adjudicator in June 2013, , and recent debates as to the Adjudicator’s impact and the review of its remit which is to be undertaken in 2016.
Research Briefing
Murder carries a mandatory life sentence. This can mean that the offender will spend the rest of his natural life in prison, although more commonly the offender will spend a "minimum term" in custody before being released on licence. This briefing from the Commons Library describes the legal framework within which minimum terms are set and the circumstances in which a "whole life" minimum term may be imposed.
Research Briefing
This paper contains labour market figures for parliamentary constituencies, as well as a summary of the latest national and regional statistics.
Research Briefing
This Paper describes policy initiatives between 1997 and 2015 designed to meet the needs of small firms. It outlines their original purpose and what happened to them.
Research Briefing
Commons Library briefing paper on the Compulsory Emergency First Aid Education (State-funded Secondary Schools) Bill 2015-16.
Research Briefing
The Trade Union Bill 2015-16 was introduced in the House of Commons on 15 July 2015.
Research Briefing
Later this month, the UK Government will publish a new National Security Strategy (NSS) to replace the 2010 version. Within a matter of days, the outcomes of the 2015 spending review and the new Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) will also be announced. At that point, people will start poring over the documents to
Research Briefing
This House of Commons briefing paper outlines changes to the Commons sitting hours that were implemented 15 October 2012. It charts how the sitting hours have changed since 1997.
Research Briefing
It’s Living Wage Week and the Mayor of London and the Living Wage Foundation have announced new Living Wage rates for 2015. But while there is lots of discussion about the benefits of paying the Living Wage, less attention is paid to how it is calculated and what it represents. In particular, there are inconsistencies
Research Briefing
This note is designed to summarise the processes and principles behind the Equitable Life compensation scheme. It is designed to help constituents who wish to know what they might expect and what they have to do if they believe that they are due compensation.
Total results (page 346 of 638)