House of Lords written statement – made at on 7 April 2010.
Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead
Minister of State (Africa and the UN), Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Minister of State (Africa and UN)
I regret that the Answer given to Lord Clarke on
DfID has previously provided £200,000 for the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC) for use in Nigeria.
DfID is currently considering further additional funding for humanitarian assistance to victims of recent violence in Jos, decisions upon which will be made on the basis of a needs-assessment currently being carried out by the ICRC.
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.
