House of Lords written statement – made at on 23 June 2005.
Lord McKenzie of Luton
Government Whip, Government Whip
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Ivan Lewis) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
The Statement on the 2005 Budget of the European Communities (EC Budget), entitled European Community Finances (Cm 6580), has today been laid before Parliament. This white paper is the 25th in the series. As in the past, it covers annual budgetary matters and includes details of recent developments in European Community financial management and in countering fraud against the EC Budget. It also describes the EC Budget for 2005 as adopted by the European Parliament, and details the United Kingdom's gross and net contributions to the EC Budget for calendar years 1999 to 2005 and financial years 1999–2000 to 2007–08.
The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
