House of Lords written statement – made at on 6 November 2006.
Lord McKenzie of Luton
Government Whip, Government Whip
The Chancellor of the exchequer (Mr Gordon Brown) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
Items on the agenda are as follows:
Financial Management—Ministers will receive a presentation from Hubert Weber, the president of the Court of Auditors, on the Court of Auditors' report on the 2005 general budget.
Statistics: 2006 Status Report and EU Statistical Governance—ECOFIN will be invited to adopt conclusions on the Economic and Financial Committee's 2006 status report and other statistical issues.
Sustainability of Public Finances: Sustainability Report—Ministers will hold an exchange of views on the Commission report regarding the sustainability of public finances and will be invited to adopt conclusions.
Excise Duties: Minimum Rates on Alcoholic Beverages—ECOFIN will discuss issues relating to the minimum excise rates on alcoholic beverages and agree a general approach.
VAT and Excise Duties: Travellers' Allowances Directive—Ministers will discuss issues relating to the travellers' allowances directive.
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.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
