Research Briefing
Unemployment by Constituency, February 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
Taxation of Pensions Bill – debates in Parliament
A guide to debates in Parliament on the Taxation of Pensions Bill 2014-15
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Research Briefing
Pension Schemes Bill 2014-15 – House of Lords stages
A guide to the debates on the Pension Schemes Bill 2014-15 in the House of Lords
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Research Briefing
House of Commons Commission Bill
The House of Commons Commission Bill 2014-15 amends the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978 to make changes to the membership and remit of the House of Commons Commission.
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Research Briefing
Yemen: back to the brink
As fighters from the Houthi movement have taken over the Yemeni Capital Sanaa, the situation in Yemen appears to be critical again, and the UK government has withdrawn its staff from the embassy there.
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Research Briefing
Serious Crime Bill: Progress of the Bill
The Serious Crime Bill [HL] 2013-14 had its second reading in the Commons on 5 January 2015. Library Research Paper 14/67 Serious Crime Bill provides background on the proposals in the Bill.
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Research Briefing
Local housing authorities – the self-financing regime: progress and issues
This note explains the implications of local housing authorities (with retained stock) moving to a self-financing regime from April 2012. It considers what use authorities are making of their new financial freedoms, the case for some continuing restrictions (borrowing caps) to be lifted and the impact of this on new council house builds. [NOTE: this paper is out of date and will not be updated. For more up to date information see Library paper CBP08963 A new era for social rented housing in England?]
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Research Briefing
Prisoners’ voting rights (2005 to May 2015)
Prisoners serving a custodial sentence do not have the right to vote under UK law. Prisoners on remand are able to vote under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act 2000. This Standard Note provides a narrative of events from the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on 6 October 2005, in the case of Hirst v United Kingdom (No 2), to the May 2015 General Election.
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Research Briefing
The National Insurance Contributions Bill 2014-15: Parliamentary scrutiny
The National Insurance Contributions Bill 2014-15 would allow for both categories of National Insurance contributions (NICs) which are payable by the self-employed – Class 2 and Class 4 – to be collected through self assessment from April 2016. The Bill would also extend existing tax rules regarding ‘accelerated payments’ and ‘high-risk’ tax promoters to NICs, and introduce a Targeted Anti-Avoidance Rule to prevent the avoidance of NICs by ‘intermediaires’.
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Research Briefing
Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill 2014-15: Parliamentary stages
This Bill is now awaiting royal assent. This Note examines parliamentary scrutiny of the Bill. There have been a number of Government amendments detailed in the Note.
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Research Briefing
Compulsory voting
This Note examines the arguments for and against legislation to require voters to cast their votes and whether it is a citizen's duty, as well as a right, to vote.
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Research Briefing
International help for the government of Ukraine
Violence has been increasing in eastern Ukraine, leading to calls for the West to arm the Ukrainian government. But Ukraine is also close to financial meltdown.
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Research Briefing
Employers’ duties to prevent illegal working
Members of Parliament sometimes receive enquiries from constituents about employers’ duties to conduct ‘right to work’ checks. This note provides an overview of the relevant legislation and Home Office policy guidance, and recent scrutiny of enforcement action taken by the Home Office against illegal employment.
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Research Briefing
Prime Minister’s Questions
This note outlines the procedures for the tabling of questions for and answering of questions at Prime Minister's Question Time. It also reviews the history of the Prime Minister facing questions in the Chamber of the House of Commons, the changes to Prime Minister's Questions, and the current situation.
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Research Briefing
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be the new multirole fast jet for the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. It will serve as the strike capability for the new Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier and will partner the Typhoon to form the future fast jet fleet for the RAF. There are three variants of the Joint Strike Fighter. The Government attracted criticism for its decision in 2010 to select a different variant to that originally chosen by the previous Government, and again for reverting back to the original choice two years later.
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