Laws of the Land

The Bill seeks to amend the 2007 Act by setting a deadline for the Secretary of State to initiate the next round of proposals from local authorities for enhancing the sustainability of local communities. It provides for regulations to be made specifying the rules for this process. These regulations will also cover parish council involvement and the role o…

The Bill will place a duty on sunbed businesses to prevent use of sunbeds by under-18s and to provide for local authority enforcement of this duty. It gives Ministers powers to make regulations imposing further conditions on commercial sunbed use. These include requirements for supervision, provision of information on health risks, and eye protection.

The recent economic downturn has been accompanied by a rise in the numbers of homes being repossessed. The main purpose of the Bill is to offer protection to tenants of rental properties whose landlord has both defaulted on his mortgage and not notified his lender that the property was being let (an 'unauthorised tenancy'). Key areas gives courts power to…

This short Bill amends the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to allow the Northern Ireland Assembly to delegate its powers in relation to the setting of salaries and allowances of Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). The Bill will enable the Assembly to confer these functions on an independent body of its own choosing. There has been pressure from the Asse…

The main purpose of the Bill is to create criminal offences in order to enforce the prohibitions set out in Article 1 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. This bans the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster munitions on the grounds that they cause unacceptable harm to civilians, and establishes measures to minimise the harm to civilians…

The Bill relates to the Freemen of Beverley (the former county town of the East Riding), their entitlement to be enrolled as Pasture Freemen and to the appointment from amongst the Pasture Freemen of the Beverley Pasture Master. The Bill would: re-state the categories of person entitled by birthright to be enrolled as a Beverley Freeman so as to extend en…

This Bill draws together a number of disparate policy issues on policing and crime. Key areas Introduces new provisions to improve police accountability and effectiveness (although the Government’s plans for directly elected police authorities, which provoked some controversy, have not been included in the Bill) Creates a new offence of paying for s…

The Bill seeks to create greater opportunities for community and individual involvement in local decision-making. It also provides for greater involvement of local authorities in local and regional economic development. Key areas: Provisions to secure greater involvement of people in the workings and decision-making processes of local public authorities p…

A draft Marine Bill was published on 3 April 2008 for public consultation. It was also subject to pre-legislative scrutiny by Parliament. The Bill covers a broad range of marine issues. Key areas Sets up a new Marine Management Organisation under which many of the existing, diverse areas of marine regulation would be centralised streamlines the existing m…

The Bill introduces a wide range of measures covering apprenticeships, learning and skills and educational provision. Key areas Provides for a statutory framework for apprenticeships and creates a right to an apprenticeship for suitably qualified 16-18 year olds Introduces a right for employees to request time away from their duties to undertake training,…

The Bill proposes to reform the welfare and benefit system to improve support and incentives for people to move from benefits into work. It contains measures to increase personal responsibility within the welfare system. It also proposes to encourage parental responsibility by introducing a requirement for joint birth registration and by amending the law…

The Bill aims to simplify and modernise two distinct but related legal rules, the rule against perpetuities and the rule against excessive accumulations, which arise most commonly in the context of trusts. It is the first Bill to be introduced into the House of Lords under the procedure for Law Commission Bills set out in the House of Lords Procedure Comm…

The Bill contains provisions relating to the work of the Law Commission (a statutory body created in 1965 to promote the reform of the law of England and Wales) and would amend the Law Commission Act 1965. The provisions of the Bill would require the Lord Chancellor to prepare an annual report, to be laid before Parliament, on the implementation of Law Co…

The Bill would give the trustees of various public museums in Britain the power of de-accession of any artefacts or cultural objects currently held in their collections which had been stolen by or on behalf of the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945, so that these artefacts could be returned to the lawful owners or their heirs. The Bill provides that this p…

This Bill seeks to define and promote ‘green energy. It aims to facilitate the development of green energy by: requiring a review and revision of the Government’s microgeneration strategy, including feed-in tariffs changing permitted development rights in planning law to facilitate the installation of domestic-scale wind turbines or air source…

The main purpose of this Bill is to address the concern that it can take a minimum of 45 days between the Registrar notifying an Approved Driving Instructor that that instructor may be removed from the Register of Approved Driving Instructors, and the removal taking effect. This has led to at least one case in which a driving instructor who had been convi…

Following amendments in a Public Bill Committee, which debates and examines the Bill clause by clause, the Bill would require the Secretary of State for Health to publish an adult autism strategy and to issue associated statutory guidance. It would also place a duty on local authorities and NHS bodies to act under this guidance.

The Bill establishes for the first time a permanent statutory regime for dealing with failing banks, amends related current legislation and makes new provisions for the governance of the Bank of England. Key areas establishes a permanent special resolution regime, providing the authorities with tools to deal with banks that get into financial difficulties…

The introduction of this Bill follows a number of separate reviews of the law on coroners and justice. Key areas Reforms the law relating to death certification and coroners, requiring some inquests to be heard without a jury Amends the defences of diminished responsibility and provocation in homicide cases Simplifies language in the offence of assisting…

The Bill aims to improve the quality of NHS care and services and to improve public health. Key areas: Places a duty on providers and commissioners of NHS services to have regard to a new NHS Constitution, which will set out the responsibilities of patients and staff introduces direct payments for health services with the intention of giving patients grea…