House of Lords written question – answered at on 11 November 2014.
Lord Empey
UUP
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they propose to legislate to provide for welfare reform in
Northern Ireland, in the light of the failure of the Northern Ireland Executive to agree new welfare reform proposals.
Baroness Randerson
Lords Spokesperson (Northern Ireland Office), The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales
Discussions on welfare reform are continuing to be held at the multi-party talks which are taking place in Belfast. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is pressing hard for an agreed resolution of the issues.
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
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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.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
