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House of Lords Reform: What Next?

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House of Lords Reform: What Next? House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee House of Lords reform: what next? Ninth Report of Session 2013–14 Volume I: Report, together with formal minutes and oral evidence Written evidence is contained in Volume II, available on the Committee website at www.parliament.uk/pcrc Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 10 October 2013 HC 251 Published on 17 October 2013 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £15.50 The Political and Constitutional Reform Committee The Political and Constitutional Reform Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to consider political and constitutional reform. Current membership Mr Graham Allen MP (Labour, Nottingham North) (Chair) Mr Christopher Chope MP (Conservative, Christchurch) Paul Flynn (Labour, Newport West) Sheila Gilmore MP (Labour, Edinburgh East) Andrew Griffiths MP (Conservative, Burton) Fabian Hamilton MP, (Labour, Leeds North East) Simon Hart MP (Conservative, Camarthen West and South Pembrokeshire) Tristram Hunt MP (Labour, Stoke on Trent Central) Mrs Eleanor Laing MP (Conservative, Epping Forest) Mr Andrew Turner MP (Conservative, Isle of Wight) Stephen Williams MP (Liberal Democrat, Bristol West) Powers The Committee’s powers are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in Temporary Standing Order (Political and Constitutional Reform Committee). These are available on the Internet via http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmstords.htm. Publication The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at www.parliament.uk/pcrc. A list of Reports of the Committee in the present Parliament is at the back of this volume. The Reports of the Committee, the formal minutes relating to that report, oral evidence taken and some or all written evidence are available in a printed volume. Additional written evidence may be published on the internet only. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Joanna Dodd (Clerk), Adele Brown (Senior Committee Specialist), Edward Faulkner (Committee Specialist), Tony Catinella (Senior Committee Assistant), Jim Lawford, (Committee Assistant) and Jessica Bridges-Palmer (Media Officer). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6287; the Committee’s email address is [email protected]. House of Lords reform: what next? 1 Contents Report Page Summary 3 1 Introduction 5 2 No longer replacing hereditary peers in the House of Lords when they die 8 3 Removing persistent non-attendees 12 4 A moratorium on new peers 15 5 Fixed-term appointments for new peers 17 6 The introduction of a retirement age 20 7 Voluntary retirement 22 A strengthened leave of absence scheme? 24 8 Expelling peers convicted of a serious offence 26 9 The desirability, composition and remit of a Statutory Appointments Commission 27 10 Determining the relative numerical strengths of party groups in the House of Lords 30 Conclusions and recommendations 35 Appendix 1 38 Formal Minutes 45 Witnesses 46 List of written evidence 47 List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 48 House of Lords reform: what next? 3 Summary This Report focuses on the desirability, practicality and effectiveness of a range of small- scale reforms to reduce the size of the House of Lords and considers which, if any, of these measures, would be likely to command a consensus. We identify one proposal upon which there is clear consensus: the plan to introduce legislation that would make it possible to expel peers who have been convicted of a serious offence. There was unanimous support among those from whom we received evidence for taking action on this matter. There was also a strong measure of agreement that action should not be taken on two areas: the introduction of a long-term moratorium on new peers and the introduction of a compulsory retirement age. On proposals for a moratorium, we conclude that it would be ineffective and would also starve the House of Lords of valuable expertise. On proposals to introduce a compulsory retirement age, we argue that this would be arbitrary and discriminatory. Instead, we urge a renewed political effort to strengthen the existing voluntary retirement scheme and support proposals that service to the House be recognised by the introduction of a leaving ceremony for peers who agree to take voluntary retirement. The Report highlights the widespread support for no longer replacing hereditary peers in the House of Lords when they die and for tackling the issue of persistent non-attendance. The Report also considers evidence on proposals to introduce fixed-term appointments for peers. It concludes that, although this could help to reduce the size of the House of Lords, the change would amount to a large-scale reform and as such should only be considered in the context of wider reform of the House. Another issue that the Report addresses is the desirability, composition and remit of a Statutory Appointments Commission. We are persuaded by the merits of the arguments which favour placing the current House of Lords Appointments Commission on a statutory basis. However, we believe that changes to its remit would be best discussed in the context of wider reform of the House of Lords. Finally, the Report considers the scope for establishing a consensus about the principles which should determine the relative numerical strengths of the different party groups in the House of Lords, and for codifying such principles. We conclude that this is perhaps the most contentious of all the issues considered as part of the inquiry, but also the most crucial. We call upon the Government and political parties in the Lords to set out their positions on this matter and to engage in dialogue with a view to establishing a consensus before the next General Election. House of Lords reform: what next? 5 1 Introduction 1. The House of Lords is one of the largest parliamentary chambers in the world. It is also considerably largely than the House of Commons, making the UK the only country where the size of the second chamber exceeds that of the first.1 The membership of the House of Lords is also likely to grow further despite the fact that the major parties all advocate a smaller second chamber in the long term. There is no cap on the size of the Lords. The appointment in August 2013 of 30 new political peers takes to 785 the number of Members who are eligible to take part in the work of the House of Lords. With 53 peers temporarily disqualified or on leave of absence, the potential membership of the Chamber has reached 838.2 Although the House of Lords has not grown markedly since 2007, and it is still smaller than before the removal of the majority of hereditary peers in 1999, average daily attendance figures have increased.3 According to the Electoral Reform Society, the House of Lords is both “grossly oversized” and “growing unstably”.4 2. Alan Renwick, of the University of Reading, stated that there is “general consensus” among peers and academics that the House is too large and that its size ought to reduced.5 In 2011, the Leader’s Group on Members Leaving the House stated that the first effect of a significant increase in numbers is the risk to the reputation of the House: It is unhelpful for the second Chamber to be regarded as of excessive size at a time when the Government intends that the number of members of the House of Commons should be reduced. The standing of the House as a serious Parliamentary forum is compromised by its apparently unchecked growth and by a lack of understanding of the reasons for further new appointments.6 3. The Leader’s Group also referred to the cost implications of an ever-growing House. It stated: “Hitherto the administration has contained costs by means of efficiency improvements, but rising numbers of active members will inevitably eventually have consequences either for standards of service or for costs.”7 4. The practical consequences of a growing House of Lords were also detailed by the Constitution Unit in its 2011 House Full report which was endorsed by a number of Members from both Houses of Parliament as well as a number of academics.8 The report stated: “to the world outside the most obvious effect [of increasing numbers] might be the rising cost, in terms of allowances, etc [but] the far bigger problem is the effect of the 1 Ev w43 2 ‘Lord appointments urgently need regulation’, Constitution Unit Press Release, 1 August 2013. Temporary disqualification applies to those who are Judges or MEPs 3 Ev w27 4 Ev w19 5 Ev w24 6 “Members Leaving the House”, Leader’s Group on Members Leaving the House, HL Paper 83, Session 2010-2011, 13 January 2011, para 15 7 Ibid., para 17 8 The Constitution Unit, House Full, April 2011 6 House of Lords reform: what next? House of Lords’ growing size on its ability to function effectively”.9 It referred to a range of issues, including increasingly limited opportunities for peers to contribute to debates, increased competition for opportunities to initiate business, reduced speaking times, increasing pressure on the Chamber’s mechanisms of self-regulation and difficulties gaining places on Select Committees.10 It also noted that as the numbers of those attending increases so too does the pressure on its resources. The Leader’s Group also stated that overcrowding is a problem, desk space is limited and demand for research and support services is increasing.11 Yet while it is generally accepted that the House’s increasing size is neither sustainable nor desirable, there is currently no consensus on how best to tackle this.
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