To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 11 March (WA 25), whether there are any proposals to allow Members of the House of Lords to be exempted from Section 41 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 if they take permanent leave of absence and do not attend the House of Lords thereafter; and, if not, why not.

There are no proposals to exempt members of the House of Lords from Section 41 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Members who take leave of absence do so only for the rest of the Parliament and are still entitled to receive a Writ of Summons to attend the new Parliament. They are therefore a Member of the House of Lords for the purpose of Section 41 of the Act. Retired Members also continue to be treated for the purposes of general law as Members of the House.