House of Lords written question – answered at on 20 December 2005.
Lord Marsh
Crossbench
asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they will provide the Lord Marsh with the information promised on the future of the Royal Air Force base at Upper Rissington, following the hour-long meeting with the then Minister on 6 April.
Lord Bach
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) (Farming, Food and Sustainable Energy), Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The information requested was sent by Defra officials to the Lord Marsh by e-mail on
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.
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