Research Briefing
An emergency Bill, the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill, is due to pass through all its parliamentary stages between 15 and 17 July. The Bill aims to allow police and security agencies to have continued access to communications data in order to combat crime and terrorism. This Note summarises the background, the Bill and criticisms that have been made of it.
Research Briefing
Self-employed people are eligible for the same contributory benefits and pension as employed earners, with one exception. Self-employed people cannot claim contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA).
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 note outlines issues about high cost credit lending and attempts to reform it. It looks at evidence from various academic research and other reports into the impact of the sector on individuals both here and abroad. It also looks at the opportunities for other lenders to enter the market and to offer more competition to the current market leaders. A section at the end of the paper looks at the implications and justifications for the cost of credit cap proposals published by the Financial Conduct Authority in July 2014.
Research Briefing
TNT Post are in direct competition with Royal Mail in parts of London, Liverpool and Manchester – they now provide a full ‘end-to-end’ service in these areas, delivering business post directly to the addresses of customers, and are said to be planning to expand. Royal Mail believe that this competition is a threat to the universal postal service they provide. This note explores the issues, possible responses and the position taken by Ofcom, the regulator, so far.
Research Briefing
Public spending and public sector employment by region.
Research Briefing
The Catalan Government hopes to hold a "consultation" on Catalan independence on 9 November 2014., but the Spanish Government hopes to prevent it from going ahead. This note provides an overview of the debate.
Research Briefing
The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill will receive its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 16 July 2014.
Research Briefing
There is a common perception that when a government leaves office, unemployment is higher than when they entered. We look at historic data to see how accurate this claim is.
Research Briefing
Beak trimming is used to improve welfare in laying hen flocks. There are welfare concerns and the Goverment will decide whether to ban it in 2016. Farmers are already calling for the ban to be postponed.
Research Briefing
In 2010–12, half of households (50%) in Great Britain had some kind of financial debt – for example formal borrowing (but not mortgages), overdrafts and arrears on household bills. About half of these households – a quarter (25%) overall – had debts worth more than their financial assets. Financial assets can include money held in
Research Briefing
The Coalition Agreement included a commitment to encourage volunteering and involvement in social action. The Government intends that the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill will help to fulfil this commitment by reassuring volunteers (and others) that the courts will consider the context of their actions in the event that they are sued for negligence or breach of statutory duty.
Research Briefing
The plight of civilians in Syria may be about to get a lot worse, as drought ravages the region, ISIS takes over much of the River Euphrates and government services threaten to collapse.
Research Briefing
The Child Poverty Act 2010, which received Royal Assent on 25 March 2010, fulfilled the Labour Government's commitment made in September 2008 to enshrine in legislation the target of 'eradicating' child poverty by 2020
Research Briefing
This post has been amended on 4 July. It was taken down on 3 July on the initiative of the Library. The post’s analysis of the data has not been changed. However, the description of the Prime Minister and Health Secretary’s use of these statistics did not meet our expected standards of impartiality. Also, we
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