• Research Briefing

    Civil Service reform

    This note outlines the Coalition Government's plans for the civil service. It also provides a very brief overview of civil service reform since 1979.

  • Research Briefing

    Roads: traffic noise

    This Note outlines the various initiatives of successive government and the European Union to properly monitor and reduce road traffic noise and its associated impacts.

  • Research Briefing

    Local Government Bill [HL]: Committee Stage Report [Bill No 75 of 2010-11]

    This is a report on the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Bill. It complements Research Paper 10/63 which was prepared for Commons Second Reading. The Bill gives effect to the Coalition Government’s commitment to stop the restructuring of councils in Norfolk, Suffolk and Devon. Specifically, it would prevent implementation of any of the existing proposals for single-tier local government made under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. No amendments were made to the Bill in committee.

  • Research Briefing

    Savings Account and Health in Pregnancy Grant Bill: Committee Stage Report

    The Bill gives effect to decisions made as part of the initial review of public expenditure undertaken soon after the 2010 General Election. This Paper summarises proceedings in the Commons Committee Stage of the Bill. Several amendments proposed but none were successful. The paper complements Research Paper 10/66, which was prepared for the Second Reading of the Bill.

  • Research Briefing

    National Insurance Contributions Bill [Bill 79 of 2010-11]

    In its first Budget on 22 June 2010 the Coalition Government confirmed that the rates of National Insurance contributions (NICs) for employees, employers and the self-employed would rise by 1% from April 2011. The Government also stated that it would legislate to introduce a three-year regional NICs ‘holiday’ for new employers. Under the scheme new businesses may qualify for a deduction of up to £5,000 from the employer NICs that would normally be due, for each of the first ten employees they take on in their first year of business. However, new businesses in Greater London, the South East Region and the Eastern Region are specifically excluded from the scheme. The purpose of this Bill is to implement these two measures.

  • Research Briefing

    Unemployment by constituency, November 2010

    This paper presents labour market data for parliamentary constituencies. A summary of the latest national and regional labour market data is given, along with a selection of relevant constituency-level indicators including the latest Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimant count data.

  • Research Briefing

    Public services (Social Enterprise and Social Value) Bill Bill No 6 of 2010/11

    The Bill attempts to strengthen the social enterprise business sector and make the concept of ‘social value’ more relevant and important in the placement and provision of public services. New duties will be placed upon central and local government authorities to publish explicit strategies for supporting these values and the public procurement process will need to reflect and measure them. This Paper was completed before a final version of the Bill was published.

  • Research Briefing

    Resignation, suspension and expulsion from the House of Lords

    This note sets out the current rules on membership of the House of Lords and the disqualification criteria. It then outlines recent developments which have caused interest in the ability of the House of Lords to suspend and expel its own Members, and the ability of members of the House of Lords to stand down. It considers the provisions included in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill as introduced, and the reactions to them, including some of the main arguments made during the second reading debate. It also sets out proposals which have been made for time-limited appointments to the House of Lords - so called 'term peerages".

  • Research Briefing

    Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010-11: Commons Stages

    This Paper summarises all Commons stages of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010-11. It supplements Research Paper 10/55 which was produced for the Bill’s Second Reading and replaces Standard Note 5697 'Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill: Progress of the Bill'. No major changes were made during the passage of the Bill in the Commons, but the text of the referendum question was altered and legislative provision was made for the combination of polls on 5 May 2011.

  • Research Briefing

    Terrorist Asset-Freezing Bill [HL] [Bill 102 of 2010-11]

    The UK is required by the UN to freeze the assets of persons who commit terrorist acts. In a case that raised “fundamental questions about the relationship between Parliament and the executive” the UK legislation that allowed the Treasury to freeze the assets of those suspected of involvement in terrorism was quashed by the UK Supreme Court in January 2010. The legislation was reinstated by temporary legislation immediately afterwards, but the Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Act 2010 expires on 31 December 2010. This Bill seeks to replace that Act with a permanent legislative framework.

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