House of Lords written statement – made at on 1 July 2009.
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, House of Lords, Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In 2007, following an experiment in 2006, the House agreed to permanent arrangements for tabling Questions for Written Answer (QWAs) and making Written Ministerial Statements during the Summer Recess. Under these arrangements there are two opportunities during the Recess, on dates to be announced by the Leader of the House, for the tabling of QWAs. Answers are made available online once a week and an edition of Hansard is published on the day after the second tabling day, in which Answers received by that time are published, together with Written Ministerial Statements.
It has been agreed through the usual channels that the dates for tabling QWAs during the Summer Recess 2009 will be
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.
Ministerial statements are made after questions and urgent questions, before the main business of the day. A minister speaks on behalf of the government to present its views to Parliament. Statements can be on any subject ranging from a new policy announcement to an important national or international event or crisis.
