• Research Briefing

    Internet access

    Internet access: By Rachael Harker. SN/SG/2663. This Note provides a summary of information about households with home access to the Internet and individuals' use of the Internet.

  • Research Briefing

    Railways: 2007 White Paper

    In July 2007 the Government published a Rail White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Railway, incorporating the first high level operating statement (HLOS). It also published the Rail Technical Strategy. This Note gives an overview of these two documents along with responses from industry and opposition parties.

  • Research Briefing

    Council Tax 2010/11

    This note contains key statistics on council tax levels in 2010/11 and a limited amount of analysis is provided. The main purpose of this note is to act as a reference document although more detailed analysis is available on request.

  • Research Briefing

    Digital Economy Bill [HL]

    The Bill implements aspects of Government policy on digital media set out in the ‘Digital Britain’ White Paper published in June 2009. It requires Ofcom to report on communications infrastructure and media content and gives it additional powers in relation to electromagnetic spectrum access. It imposes obligations on internet service providers to reduce online copyright infringement and allows the Secretary of State to intervene in internet domain name registration. The Bill requires Channel Four to provide public service content on a range of media and allows variation of the public service provision in Channel 3 and 5 licences. It also modifies the licensing regime to facilitate switchover to digital radio, extends the range of video games that are subject to age-related classification and includes non-print formats in the public lending right payment scheme.

  • Research Briefing

    Direct taxes: rates and allowances 2010/11

    This paper sets out the main changes to direct tax rates and allowances announced in the Budget on 24 March 2010. It lists the principal personal allowances which will be available against income tax in the tax year 2010/11, and outlines the conditions for eligibility for these allowances. The paper summarises the general tax position in straightforward cases and deals only with tax allowances. No reference is made to cash benefits provided under the social security system, or to child tax credit and working tax credit.

  • Research Briefing

    Universal jurisdiction

    The UK has universal jurisdiction under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 (and other legislation) for a limited number of serious international crimes. It also has an obligation under international law to prosecute or extradite those suspected of war crimes or torture anywhere in the world. There are few such prosecutions in the UK but arrest warrants have been sought for private prosecutions. The Government is consulting on a change to the law on private prosecutions for universal jurisdiction offences, and the UN is conducting a review of the scope and application of the principle of universal jurisdiction.

  • Research Briefing

    EU Legislation

    This Note considers the different types of EU legislative instruments and their implementation requirements. It also gives figures for EU laws adopted since 1980 and repealed since 1997, as well as an estimate of the proportion of UK secondary legislation made under the ECA to implement EU obligations.

  • Research Briefing

    Trends in crime since 1997

    This note looks at both of these sources, briefly explaining their advantages and disadvantages. The note concludes by looking at possible adjustments that can be made to the recorded crime series to estimate trends since 1997 - and the limitations of such estimates.

  • Research Briefing

    Transport Policy in 2010: a rough guide

    This paper gives an overview of transport policy in the UK in 2010. It examines a range of issues related to transport policy, including policy-makers, spending on and sources of funding for transport, the transport policy of the main political parties, and the challenges in formulating transport policy in 2010.

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