SPECIAL REPORT
16 JULY 2002
The Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform has
agreed to the following Special Report:
HOUSE OF LORDS REFORM: FIRST STEPS
Introduction
1. The Committee met for the first time on 9th July,
three working days after the House of Lords agreed, on 4th July,
to a Resolution concurring with the Commons in the setting up
of a Joint Committee.
2. At our first meeting, we elected the Rt Hon. Jack
Cunningham MP as our Chairman and began to consider how to fulfil
our remit. The deliberation was continued at a second meeting
in the following week to consider the terms of this Special Report.
Orders of Reference
3. Our Orders of Reference are:
"(1) to consider issues relating to House of
Lords reform, including the composition and powers of the Second
Chamber and its role and authority within the context of Parliament
as a whole, having regard in particular to the impact which any
proposed changes would have on the existing pre-eminence of the
House of Commons, such consideration to include the implications
of a House composed of more than one "category" of member
and the experience and expertise which the House of Lords in its
present form brings to its function as the revising Chamber; and
(2) having regard to paragraph (1) above, to report
on options for the composition and powers of the House of Lords
and to define and present to both Houses options for composition,
including a fully nominated and fully elected House, and intermediate
options;
and to consider and report on—
(a) any changes to the relationship between the two
Houses which may be necessary to ensure the proper functioning
of Parliament as a whole in the context of a reformed Second Chamber,
and in particular, any new procedures for resolving conflict between
the two Houses; and
(b) the most appropriate and effective legal and
constitutional means to give effect to any new Parliamentary settlement;
and in all the foregoing considerations, to have
regard to—
(i) the Report of the Royal Commission on House
of Lords Reform (Cm 4534);
(ii) the White Paper The House of Lords—Completing
the Reform (Cm 5291), and the responses received thereto;
(iii) debates and votes in both Houses of Parliament
on House of Lords reform; and
(iv) the House of Commons Public Administration
Select Committee report The Second Chamber: Continuing the
Reform, including its consultation of the House of Commons,
and any other relevant select committee reports."
Method of Proceeding and Timetable
4. As can be seen from these terms of reference,
a large body of material, including a Government White Paper and
supporting documents, a Royal Commission Report, a Select Committee
Report and substantial parliamentary debates, have been referred
to us. Since we are required to examine this material in the context
of our consideration of the reform of the House of Lords, we have
decided that we do not, at this stage, need to embark on taking
oral evidence. Virtually every shade of view and refinement of
opinion is already contained in the documents formally referred
to us, including the views of numerous outside bodies and individuals
consulted during the various inquiries we have mentioned. Instead
we intend to begin with a careful analysis of that body of material
which the Leader of the House of Commons has himself called a
"library" in order to identify key areas and issues.
Role and Composition
5. We have decided to meet twice during September,
to begin our detailed consideration of how that body of evidence
relates to the role and composition of a reformed House of Lords,
with the aim of proposing options on both. We need to be clear
about what we want a reformed House to do at the same time as
we are considering how its membership is to be made up. Rather
than taking formal evidence during the first stage, we may decide,
once we have had time to reflect on the evidence already before
us, to invite the attendance of people to discuss their views
with us informally. Of course we do not mean to rule out any representations
which Members of either House, or of the public, may wish to make
to us in writing during the first part of our work, which we aim
to conclude in the autumn. We intend to establish ourselves on
the Parliamentary website.
The Reformed House in Parliament
6. In the second stage of our inquiry, when the Houses
have made their views known on the matter of options on composition
and powers, we shall need to consider such differences as may
exist between the expressed views of the two Houses and the means
by which, and extent to which, they might be brought closer to
each other, if not actually reconciled. In light of our assessment
of these matters, we will then proceed to consider more detailed
matters about the structure of a reformed House, its membership
and conditions. We will also need to consider any remaining issues
concerning the proper functioning of Parliament as a whole in
the context of a reformed Second Chamber and also concerning any
constitutional settlement that may be necessary in determining
the relations of the two Houses. The Committee believes that such
a settlement would need to be robust, practical and command broad
support in Parliament and beyond if it is to have any chance to
endure.
7. Members of both Houses will appreciate that in
agreeing to this method of proceeding, and by meeting during the
Parliamentary recess, the Committee is responding to the desire
for this highly important matter to be taken forward expeditiously.
But we are also conscious of the need to give thorough and diligent
consideration to a wide-ranging set of complex issues that have
been the subject of public discussion for many decades and recently
have led to some widely different conclusions on the part of Government,
the Royal Commission and the Commons Select Committee on Public
Administration.
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