House of Lords written statement – made at on 21 March 2013.
Lord de Mauley
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
My Honourable Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Natural Environment, Water and Rural Affairs (Richard Benyon) has today made the following Statement.
Today I am announcing the start of the triennial review of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). Triennial reviews of non-department public bodies are part of the Government's commitment to ensuring accountability in public life. The JNCC is a UK body and the review will be conducted jointly with the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Assembly. I expect to announce the findings of the review and recommendations in early summer 2013.
A joint discussion paper is being issued today, inviting responses by
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.
When speaking in the House of Commons, an MP will refer to an MP of the same party as "My Honourable Friend".
