THE HOUSE OF LORDS: SOME STATISTICS (as at 4th February 1998)
Membership
There are 1,272 potential members of the House altogether. This total comprises 26 archbishops and bishops (of the Church of England); 750 hereditary peers (including 16 women) and 496 created peers (9 created hereditary peers, 487 life peers - 81 women). There are also 7 people who had inherited peerages and have disclaimed them for life so they can not sit in the Lords. However, their heirs may do so if they wish once they inherit the titles (3 other people who have disclaimed peerages now sit in the House by virtue of other titles).
Of the 1,272 potential members, 124 peers are not eligible to attend the House at present (55 of them have applied for leave of absence from the House and 69 have not applied for and received Writs of Summons enabling them to attend). So there are, therefore, 1,148 peers currently eligible to sit in the House of Lords.
The peer who has been a member of the House for the longest time is known as the Father of the House; at present this is Lord Oranmore and Browne, a hereditary peer who first attended the House in 1927 (he is, however, no longer active in the House). The longest serving peer who still attends the House is the Earl Haig who has been a member of the House for 58 years and still attended 14 of the sitting days last session.
The House spans a wide range of age groups: The youngest peer is the Earl of Craven who is 8 - but he will not be eligible for a seat until he reaches 21. The youngest attending member of the House is the Earl of Hardwicke at 26, the oldest is Lord Denning who is 98. The average age of those peers eligible to sit is 65 years. Life peers are on average 7 years older than hereditary peers (their average age being 69 years whilst hereditary peers average 62 years).
There are three main political parties represented in the House of Lords; the numbers of peers eligible to sit and declaring party allegiance is shown below:
| Party | Life
Peers | Hereditary Peers | Lords
Spiritual | Total |
Of First
Creation | By
Succession |
| Conservative | 173 | 4 | 319 | | 496 |
| Labour | 141 | 1 | 16 | | 158 |
| Liberal Dem. | 44 | 0 | 24 | | 68 |
| Cross Bench | 119 | 4 | 200 | | 323 |
| Other | 5 | 0 | 73 | 25 | 103 |
| | 482 | 9 | 632 | 25 | 1,148 |
Sittings
The House sat for 79 days last session (23.10.96 to 8.4.97); an average session would contain about 140 sitting days but this was shortened by the calling of a general election. The House generally sits from Monday to Thursday (only occasionally on Fridays) starting at 14.30 (15.00 on Thursdays, 11.00 on Fridays). The rising time is not fixed; the average length of sitting in session 1996-97 was 6 hours 40 minutes (giving an average rising time on most days of 9.10pm). Of the 79 sittings, 30 went beyond 10pm; the latest sitting being until 3.05am on the following day.
Members of the House are not obliged to attend; they do not receive a salary, merely reimbursement of expenses (see note below) which they can claim for days when they do attend the House. The level of attendance for Session 1996-97 was as follows:
| | |
| Number of peers attending the House last session |
| Number of peers
eligible to attend
in each category | at least once | at least 27 times
(1/3 of sittings) | at least 53 times
(2/3 of sittings) |
|
| Created peers | 427 |
| 380 | 240 | 151 |
| Hereditary peers | 632 | 449 | 214 | 135 |
| Bishops/Archbishops | 28 | 26 | 3 | 0 |
| Total eligible peers | 1,087 | 855 | 457 | 286 |
|
Note:
For each day's attendance they may claim expenses of up to a maximum of £78.00 overnight subsistence; £34.50 daily subsistence; £33.50 secretarial assistance and, depending where they live, certain travelling expenses.
Business of the House
No similar statistics are kept for actual participation in the business of the House as opposed to attendance. But perhaps a flavour can be obtained from these two examples of the division of peers speaking on second reading debates on two major government bills:
Of the speakers on the second reading of
the Firearms (Amendment) Bill (16.12.96): | Of the speakers on the second reading of
the Education Bill (10.2.97): |
| |
| |
| |
The time of the House for Session 1996-97 was divided as follows:
| 44.5% | on government legislation |
| 8.3% | on private member legislation |
| 4.7% | on delegated (secondary) legislation |
| 28.9% | on debates |
| 13.6% | on other business |
