Research Briefing
Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill 2014-15 [Bill 143 2014-15]
This Note describes the Lords Spiritual (Women) Bill 2014-15 and places it in context
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Research Briefing
Regulation of candidates’ campaign expenditure: the long and the short of it…
There are two regulated periods for candidates contesting the UK Parliamentary general election, known as the long campaign and the short campaign. Separate spending limits apply in each of these periods. The long campaign period (technically the period during which the pre-candidacy election expenses are regulated) began on 19 December 2014 and ends on the
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Research Briefing
International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill 2014-15: progress of the bill
This note looks at the debates on the International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill 2014-15 since the bill’s introduction. In committee, the bill was amended, changing the requirements about the scrutiny of aid spending. At third reading, the bill was passed by the House of Commons by 146 votes to five.
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Research Briefing
Voter Trends in 2014 and lessons for the 2015 General Election
Since 1964, the British Election Study (BES) has been surveying voters at each General Election in an attempt to establish who votes for who and why. The study has evolved over time, yet the central focus on political preferences and values, attitudes towards political engagement, and the socio-demographic characteristics of voters has remained. The BES
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Research Briefing
Control of Horses Bill 2014-15
There are proposals to update fly-grazing legislation. This note covers the private Members' bill put forward by Julian Sturdy MP.
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Research Briefing
US economy: developments since the 2008/2009 recession
US economic recovery from the 2008/2009 recession has been steady as annual GDP growth averaged 2.2% between 2010 and 2013. Unemployment has been falling but the proportion of working age adults in employment remains low by historical standards. Interest rates are near 0% and the Federal Reserve has bought $4 trillion in assets to try and boost the economy. Large budget deficits have seen fiscal policy become a key political battleground, although the deficit has fallen in recent years.
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Research Briefing
Sex and relationships education in schools
What children should be taught about sex and relationships, by whom and when, is a matter of persistent political debate. There are currently two Private Member’s Bills before Parliament on the subject, as well as an Education Committee inquiry in progress. The matter was raised during the passage of the recent Children and Families Act
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Research Briefing
House of Lords Reform – developments in the 2010 Parliament
Since the Government’s decision in the summer of 2012 to withdraw the House of Lords Reform Bill 2012-13, it has supported provisions in the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 to allow members of the House of Lords to resign, and to require those who do not attend and those convicted of serious offences to cease to be members.
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Research Briefing
Local Government Finance Settlement 2015/16 – initial analysis
Settlement funding assessments for local authorities will decrease by 13.9% and the overall reduction in Spending power, a measure of The total funding available to local authorities (excluding the GLA), was confirmed as 1.8%. The Government will again be offering Council Tax Freeze Grant to those authorities that freeze their council tax in 2015/16. Local authorities raising their council tax by 2% or more will have to hold a local referendum on the proposal.
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Research Briefing
Update on Somalia: the road to recovery or the road to nowhere?
In June 2014 President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared that Somalia was in a “political crisis”. In May, UN Special Envoy to Somalia, Nicholas Kay, said that Somalia was approaching “a danger zone”. How far have these fears come to pass? Government in-fighting During the second half of 2014 relations between the president and his prime
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Research Briefing
State Pension top up
Looks at the provisions in the Pensions Act 2014 to allow people who reach State Pension age before 6 April 2016 to pay voluntary class 3A National Insurance Contributions to increase their entitlement to the additional State Pension
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Research Briefing
Credit Unions (2015)
This briefing covers the UK credit union landscape and policy development up to 2015. This briefing has been superseded by a new briefing CBP-10306.
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Research Briefing
Health and Social Care (Safety and Quality) Bill [Bill 17 of 2014-15]
This House of Commons Library briefing paper provides information on the Health and Social Care (Safety and Quality) Bill, which received its Second Reading on 7 November 2014. It is a Private Members Bill containing measures intended to improve patient safety. It was introduced by Jeremy Lefroy MP, who came fifth in the Private Members’ Bill ballot.
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Research Briefing
The Affordable Homes Bill 2014-15
This note provides background information on the Bill’s provisions and summarises the content of the Bill. The Bill's Committee Stage was adjourned on 29 October 2014 as a money resolution must be passed in order for it to progress any further.
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Research Briefing
Mutuals Deferred Shares Bill
This Bill is a government-supported Private Members’ Bill which started in the Lords.
Total results (page 365 of 638)