Research Briefing
Both the National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review were published in October 2010, five months after the Government took office. This paper examines the main priorities and recommendations set out in each of those documents
Research Briefing
From 1993 to 2000 Conservative and Labour Governments set taxes on road fuels by means of a 'escalator' - a commitment to raise duty rates by a specified percentage each year. This note is a short history of this policy.
Research Briefing
This note discusses the 'fuel crisis' of summer 2000, and the Labour Government's approach to taxing road fuels in the following years.
Research Briefing
This Research Paper summarises all the Commons stages of the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill. It complements Research Paper 10/54 which was prepared for the Commons Second Reading. No major amendments were made to the Bill during its Committee stage and no amendments were made during Report.
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. The latest data show: JSA claimant count unemployment fell by 4,100 in December 2010 to 1.46 million. The wider ILO-based measure of unemployment was 2.50 million in the period September-November 2010, a rise of 49,000 from the last quarter. The unemployment rate was 7.9. This edition of Unemployment by Constituency contains a special section on how unemployment and employment vary by age
Research Briefing
On 22 December 2010 Iraq at last announced the formation of a new government, some nine months after inconclusive elections. This note looks at the composition of the government and political and security conditions in the country.
Research Briefing
The Scotland Bill was published on 30 November 2010, and is scheduled for second reading on 27 January 2011. The Bill contains provisions to give the Scottish Parliament greater responsibility for raising its own revenue, in addition the borrowing powers of the Scottish Government are extended. The Bill also changes the boundary of devolved powers by amending some of the reserved matters in the Scotland Act 1998. Some new matters are devolved, some are reserved. The Bill also proposes small changes to provisions concerning the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government.
Research Briefing
The Estates of Deceased Persons (Forfeiture Rule and Law of Succession) Bill is a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Greg Knight under the ballot procedure. The Ministry of Justice has indicated to Greg Knight that it will support the Bill and has assisted with drafting the Bill and the Explanatory Notes. The Bill would protect the inheritance rights of the descendants of people who have: • forfeited their inheritance by killing the deceased; or • decided not to accept their own inheritance. It would give general effect to the recommendations of the Law Commission in its 2005 report, The Forfeiture Rule and the Law of Succession, which were accepted by the Labour Government in 2006. Similar provisions to those contained in the Bill were included in the Draft Civil Law Reform Bill which the Labour Government published in December 2009. The Coalition Government is not proceeding with that draft Bill.
Research Briefing
The parliamentary election scheduled for 7 March 2010 is an important milestone in the development of the country's political system. This note looks at the controversies attending the run-up to the election, the provisional results and manoeuvring to form a governing majority.
Research Briefing
Seasonal flu statistics by Rachael Harker. Social indicators topical page covering seasonal flu statistics for the winter of 2010/11
Research Briefing
The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), including its exemptions, applies to the police. Section 29 of the Act details the "crime and taxation" exemption which allows personal data either to be processed or withheld from the data subject for the purposes of the prevention or detection of crime or the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
Research Briefing
This Note looks at the European External Action Service established by the Treaty of Lisbon in December 2009 and provides links to relevant documentation.
Research Briefing
This note summarises recent developments in Morocco and the situation in Western Sahara, the disputed territory to the south which has been occupied by Morocco.
Research Briefing
The Coalition Government in the UK has made improvement of relations with the Gulf States, and growth in trade with the region, a priority. This note summarises recent developments in the small but fabulously wealthy state of Qatar.
Research Briefing
The Government announced in the Spending Review that the Education Maintenance Allowance Scheme (EMA) in England will stop at the end of academic year 2010/11. No new applications will be accepted from the start of January 2011. EMA currently provides up to £30 per week for students from low income households to encourage them to stay in education beyond the end of compulsory education. This note includes data on expenditure, the number of recipients, types of students who receive EMA and looks at the evidence on its impact on participation. The EMA section of the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) website gives information about eligibility criteria and how to apply. It also includes data on take-up and research into the impact of EMA and the effect of some of the changes to the scheme. It looks at the scheme in England only.
Total results (page 464 of 639)