House of Lords written question – answered at on 13 December 2001.
Lord Marsh
Crossbench
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the proposed consultation process before making a final decision relating to the future of gliding activity at RAF Upper Rissington and RAF Bicester.
Lord Bach
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Procurement), Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Defence
The consultation process required will depend on the outcome of the study into the permanent location of the Joint Services Adventurous Training (Gliding) function.
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.