I used to write a column for Liberal Democrat Voice looking forward to the week's events in the House of Lords. As far as I could tell, hardly anyone ever read it, and I was, admittedly, a bit erratic in terms of writing it every week. And so, with a somewhat smaller, but perhaps more perfectly formed and courteous audience here, I'm going to give it another go. This time, it might be a bit more personal, however...
 |
| I'm sure that Ros is in there somewhere... |
Perhaps more important, however, is the first day of the Report stage of the Pensions Bill, when suggested changes covering state pension credit and bereavement support payments are likely to be discussed. They will also discuss a proposal for a pension scheme charge cap. In Grand Committee, the Regulations increasing penalties for failure to apply the National Minimum Wage are up for debate and, hopefully approval. I, for one, take a dim view on allowing employers to effectively require the state to mitigate low pay, and would like to see action on this.
On Tuesday, the Communications Committee takes evidence from, amongst others, Janet Brown, Executive Director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, as it looks at broadcast General Election debates. I'd like to see Nigel Farage be included next year, as well as the leaders of the Scottish Nationalists and Plaid Cymru in their national debates, even if it is unlikely that UKIP will win many seats.
In the main chamber, a number of relatively minor Bills, including the Deep Sea Mining and International Development (Gender Equality) Bills have their Committee Stages, whilst Christine Humphreys has what I believe to be her first oral question, regarding the implementation of recent Ofsted recommendations on careers advice in schools, and Paul Tyler wants to know what steps local communities might take where their local authority doesn't have an up-to-date local plan.
I'm pleased to see that, on Wednesday, Mike Storey has a question on support given to young people living in rural areas to enable them to travel to school or college. In a debate on bus transport last year, Ros made the point that the buses that carry children from the villages to school are only viable because they are then used to provide scheduled services, often sponsored by local authorities. As bus subsidies are cut, those services disappear, leaving the buses potentially unutilised and unproductive. We'll see what Susan Kramer has to say on the subject in response.
The Chair of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, Lord Kakkar, appears before the Constitution Committee for the first time since his appointment, to answer questions about its work. Given that Ros sits on the Commission, I'll be taking a close interest on what he has to say. And, talking of Ros, EU Sub-Committee D, which she chairs, meets to continue work on their forthcoming report on food waste.
Andrew Phillips, Suffolk's other Liberal Democrat peer, has an oral question on Thursday about mitigating the social and cultural consequences of the weakening of community life in the UK, whilst Liz Barker initiates a debate on the effectiveness of the Charity Commission. It might not be a very long debate, as they're not very good, a point that the Public Accounts Committee made rather forcefully in a report published recently.
Amongst some general tidying up is the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (Consequential and Contrary Provisions and Scotland) Order 2014, and I'll touch on that separately. There is also a debate, initiated by Dominic Addington, a keen rugby player, on advice given regarding concussions sustained in sporting injuries, an issue that has been in the news somewhat of late.
So, there you go, the first review here on "Liberal Bureaucracy". If you have any suggestions, feel free to make them, either by leaving a comment below, or by reaching me on Twitter or by e-mail...
I'm pleased to see that, on Wednesday, Mike Storey has a question on support given to young people living in rural areas to enable them to travel to school or college. In a debate on bus transport last year, Ros made the point that the buses that carry children from the villages to school are only viable because they are then used to provide scheduled services, often sponsored by local authorities. As bus subsidies are cut, those services disappear, leaving the buses potentially unutilised and unproductive. We'll see what Susan Kramer has to say on the subject in response.
The Chair of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, Lord Kakkar, appears before the Constitution Committee for the first time since his appointment, to answer questions about its work. Given that Ros sits on the Commission, I'll be taking a close interest on what he has to say. And, talking of Ros, EU Sub-Committee D, which she chairs, meets to continue work on their forthcoming report on food waste.
Andrew Phillips, Suffolk's other Liberal Democrat peer, has an oral question on Thursday about mitigating the social and cultural consequences of the weakening of community life in the UK, whilst Liz Barker initiates a debate on the effectiveness of the Charity Commission. It might not be a very long debate, as they're not very good, a point that the Public Accounts Committee made rather forcefully in a report published recently.
Amongst some general tidying up is the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (Consequential and Contrary Provisions and Scotland) Order 2014, and I'll touch on that separately. There is also a debate, initiated by Dominic Addington, a keen rugby player, on advice given regarding concussions sustained in sporting injuries, an issue that has been in the news somewhat of late.
So, there you go, the first review here on "Liberal Bureaucracy". If you have any suggestions, feel free to make them, either by leaving a comment below, or by reaching me on Twitter or by e-mail...
No comments:
Post a Comment