Research Briefing
The EFSM is a €60bn facility to provide loans to EU Member States in financial difficulty. It is financed through borrowing secured against the EU Budget. Thus far, Ireland and Portugal have received support through the EFSM.
Research Briefing
Elections on 5 May 2011 resulted in little change in the overall party composition of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Gains and losses by individual parties involved just one or two seats. 108 Assembly Members were elected by Single Transferrable Vote, 6 Members for each of 18 constituencies. Following the 2011 elections the two largest parties in the Assembly are the DUP (38 MLAs) and Sinn Féin (29 MLAs).
Research Briefing
This Research Paper provides summary and detailed results of the fourth elections to the National Assembly for Wales, which took place on 5 May 2011.
Research Briefing
67.9% of voters opposed changing the electoral system to the Alternative Vote, in a UK wide referendum on 5 May 2011. Turnout was 42.0%. This Research Paper presents information on votes cast in each region and referendum counting area.
Research Briefing
The Habitual Residence Test is applied to people (unless they are exempt categories) who have recently arrived in the country and who make a claim for certain means-tested social security benefits, or seek housing assistance from a local authority.
Research Briefing
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
This note provides information on the driver and vehicle requirements in the UK for foreign drivers and imported vehicles.
Research Briefing
The BBC World Service has a global audience of some 180 million people and is widely considered to be an important instrument of British “soft power”. This note provides background to ongoing parliamentary debates on recent decisions to cut the World Service’s budget and, in the longer term, to fund it by the licence fee.
Research Briefing
This note briefly considers the Middle East diplomatic Quartet, composed of the US, the UN, the EU and Russia, and its three principles governing engagement: the renunciation of violence, the recognition of the State of Israel and the acceptance of previous diplomatic agreements.
Research Briefing
The US government has asserted that by killing Osama bin Laden on 1 May 2011, justice has been done. Its view is that the killing was clearly lawful. But the nature, timing and location of the killing have raised various questions under international law. The killing also has possible implications for future policies towards al-Qaeda as well as Libya and other countries.
Research Briefing
Housing: construction defects. By Wendy Wilson. SN/SP/2030. This note outlines assistance available for owners of homes that are of a defective construction type.
Research Briefing
This note sets out the background to and extent of the provisions that applied to Members’ allowances administered by the House. It gives details of the changes proposed in the Budget, and enacted in the Finance (No 2) Act 2010.
Research Briefing
This Note looks the European Commission's "Strategy for the effective implementation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights". It also considers government and parliament views of the Charter.
Research Briefing
The Post Office Card Account (POCA) was launched in April 2003. In January 2006, it became apparent that the DWP would not be renewing the contract with Post Office Ltd, all but signalling an end to the POCA in its current form. The DWP subsequently undertook a procurement exercise for a successor to the POCA - the Government Card Account Banking Service. In a statement to the House on 13 November 2008, the Government decided to cancel the procurement exercise and award the new contract to Post Office Ltd to run initially from April 2010 and March 2015.
Research Briefing
This note looks at the political system in Afghanistan in the wake of the 2010 parliamentary elections and the moves towards reintegration and a negotiated settlement with the Taliban.
Total results (page 456 of 639)