Research Briefing
The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 is a contentious and often criticised piece of legislation, although it does have its supporters. The government and the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee have argued it has created a stable environment for longer-term government planning. The 2011 Act made provision for the next general election to be held on
Research Briefing
New earnings data published this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show differences in pay across parliamentary constituencies, as illustrated in the map below. Median weekly pay of full-time employees was highest for people living in London (at £618 per week in April 2014) and lowest in Northern Ireland (£457 per week). The
Research Briefing
On 8-9 December interested parties will convene in Vienna for the Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons. This will be the third conference on this issue in two years and is the result of an increasing focus by the non-nuclear weapon states on a previously little-debated aspect of the nuclear weapons debate: the humanitarian consequences of their use. On 2 December the British government announced that it would attend the Vienna conference, in contrast to the two previous conferences on this subject.
Research Briefing
This Note explores the technical issues involved in identifying “England-only” legislation and gives some analysis of bills and divisions in the current session. It also gives a brief account of proposals for further devolution in England.
Research Briefing
This note provides information on the various types of referendum which may be (and in some circumstances must be) conducted by local authorities.
Research Briefing
Privatisation: This paper examines the economic policy which came to be known as ‘privatisation’ – the transfer of responsibility for an industry or the ownership of a company from the public to the private sector.
Research Briefing
A House of Commons Library Paper on Flood defence spending in England as at 2014.
Research Briefing
Housing mobility schemes enable local authority and housing association tenants to relocate from their current area to other parts of the country. This is an overview of the history of mobility schemes and Government policy. It covers the Housing and Mobility Exchange Service (HOMES), the LAWN and Seaside and Country Homes schemes, Scout Solutions Projects Ltd. and MoveUK, the Hosing Mobility Tasklforce, the Housing Corporation review, HomeSwap Direct, Right to Move, the Localism Act and mutual exchange.
Research Briefing
This note discusses recent debates over the case for taxing land values and proposals for a 'mansions tax' - an annual levy on the most valuable residential properties.
Research Briefing
This is a report on the House of Commons Committee stage of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill.
Research Briefing
Cold Weather Payments are made from the Social Fund to certain recipients of Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit or Pension Credit during periods of very cold weather. The amount is £25 a week for eligible benefit claimants.
Research Briefing
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to Libya, as the country splits among warring factions. The country now has two parliaments and its internationally-accepted government is based in a hotel in Tobruk.
Research Briefing
A selected timeline of events and significant publications leading up to the referendum in Scotland on 18 September 2014 and to some of the planned follow-up events.
Research Briefing
Debate over the UK’s EU budget surcharge of £1.63bn1 has raged since the end of October, culminating in an urgent question in the House on Monday (11th November). The Chancellor of the Exchequer claims to have, amongst other things, halved the surcharge – his opponents say that this is based on a rebate which was
Research Briefing
Looks at changes in survivors benefits from the armed forces pension schemes
Total results (page 372 of 642)