• Research Briefing

    Strategic Defence Review Green Paper: Preliminary Observations

    The Government published its defence Green Paper on 3 February 2010. The observations and recommendations in that paper will now inform the work of a Strategic Defence Review which the Government has committed to undertaking shortly after the General Election. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats have also stated that they will hold a defence review should they take office. This note sets out some of the background to the Green Paper, its main conclusions and some initial reactions within Parliament, the media and the wider defence community. This briefing will eventually form part of a larger Library Research Paper on the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review.

  • Research Briefing

    Parliamentary privilege and individual Members

    This Note reviews the operation of parliamentary privilege with respect to individual Members. It refers to the Joint Committee on Parliamentary Privilege, which reported in 1999. Library Standard Note 2024 Parliamentary Privilege and Qualified Privilege covers the question of the treatment in law of Members' constituency correspondence.

  • Research Briefing

    Terrorist Asset Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Bill

    On 27 January 2010 the Supreme Court announced that it had upheld the appeal in the case of HM Treasury v Ahmed and Others, which concerned the UK's implementation of United Nations obligations to freeze the assets of terrorists by way of two Orders in Council made under section 1 of the United Nations Act 1946. The Court quashed the Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2006 and provisions in the Al-Qaida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Order 2006. The Government announced its intention to introduce primary legislation to re-instate the asset-freezing regime.

  • Research Briefing

    Anti-Slavery Day Bill

    This note provides an overview of the Anti-Slavery Day Bill, which would require the Secretary of State to designate a date for an annual "Anti-Slavery Day" to raise awareness of the dangers and consequences of modern-day slavery and human trafficking. The Bill is a Private Member's Bill introduced by Anthony Steen, founder of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking, who drew sixth place in the 2009-10 ballot for Private Members' Bills.

  • Research Briefing

    Local Authorities (Overview and Scrutiny) Bill [Bill 16 of 2009-10]

    The Bill is based on proposals in the 2009 Communities and Local Government Green Paper 'Strengthening Local Democracy'. The Bill strengthens local government overview and scrutiny committee powers in relation to partner organisations, so that they could potentially cover a greater range of external authorities. The activities which would be subject to such scrutiny are defined as matters of local concern in the area. The Bill provides for executive members to sit on committees involved in scrutiny of external bodies. It also makes provision for the resourcing of overview and scrutiny.

  • Research Briefing

    EU bibliographies: proposed equal treatment directive

    Under its 'Renewed Social Agenda' the European Commission adopted on 2 July 2008 a non-discrimination package including a proposal for a new directive on equal treatment prohibiting discrimination on grounds of age, disability, sexual orientation and religion or belief outside the employment sphere. This Note brings together documents relevant to the proposed "Equal Treatment Directive" and its scrutiny in the UK and EU.

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