House of Lords written statement – made at on 17 May 2007.
Lord McKenzie of Luton
Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Work and Pensions, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
My Honourable Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (James Plaskitt) has made the following Statement.
The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council will be held on
The council will seek political agreement on guidelines for the employment policies of the member states. The UK supports this text. There will be an endorsement of the active ageing opinion following a study of all member states' policies in this area. We welcome this exchange of good practice underpinning a key Lisbon priority.
The council will consider the adoption of and a policy debate on the Commission's published communication on a new health and safety strategy for 2007-12, published on
The council will aim to reach agreement on a partial general approach on both the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the council implementing Regulation (EC) No. 883/04 on the co-ordination of social security schemes and the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the council amending Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 on the co-ordination of social security systems, and determining the content of Annexe XI. The UK is content, but will be making a statement for the council minutes to make clear that our agreement to the provisions for healthcare is provisional and subject to future discussions on the proposal for health services.
The council will receive an amendments package for Regulation (EEC) No. 1408/71 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community. This amendments package is non-controversial.
The key agenda item will be the presidency hopes to get political agreement on a directive for improving the portability of supplementary pension rights. Depending on the outcome of current negotiations, we are likely to support the presidency proposal.
The council will seek adoption of the draft conclusions on the importance of family-friendly policies in Europe and the establishment of an alliance for families. The UK supports this initiative on the basis that the alliance works with existing EU structures and does not duplicate work.
The council will seek adoption of the conclusions pertaining to the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. The presidency has chosen to work on the theme of "The Education and Training of Women" and has produced a report including a set of indicators. The UK supports the text.
The chair of the Social Protection Committee (SPC) will inform the council on the progress on a communication on social services of general interest. The SPC has discussed member state responses to a consultation on whether significant problems exist between modernising social services and applying EU competition policy. There will be further EU-level evaluation before any conclusions are drawn and any proposals brought forward.
Under any other business, there will be reports of recent presidency conferences.
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.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
When speaking in the House of Commons, an MP will refer to an MP of the same party as "My Honourable Friend".
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
