Research briefings

This page provides access to research briefings produced by the House of Commons Library, the House of Lords Library and the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). You can filter the research briefings by date, type, or one of 350 topics. Pick your options from the dropdown menus.

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    Glossary

    • Commons Briefing papers: Papers providing in-depth and impartial analysis on every major piece of primary legislation and on other topics of public and parliamentary concern. Regular statistics papers are also published.
    • Lords Library Notes: Authored publications by the research section of the House of Lords Library that provide analysis of Bills, subjects for debate in the House and other issues of interest to Members.
    • POSTbriefs: Responsive policy briefings from the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology based on mini-literature reviews and peer review, typically commissioned by select committees and library research services.
    • POSTnotes: Proactive four-page policy briefings from the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology based on reviews of the research literature, interviews with stakeholders and peer review, commissioned by the POST Board.
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    Topics

    Topics: Research material can be filtered by subject using the topic terms. The topics are arranged in a taxonomy (a hierarchical classification) and can be further filtered using sub-topics.

Displaying 61-80 out of 8693

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for new motorhomes
Published Thursday, August 8, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers CBP-8639
Several industry groups have expressed their concern that Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for newly registered motorhomes will increase on 1 September 2019. This Commons Library Briefing Paper provides an overview of how and why these changes will take effect.

Topics: Roads, Taxation

2019 CJEU Judgments in Summary
Published Thursday, August 8, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers CBP-8573
This briefing paper summarises a selection of Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) judgments from 2019.

Topics: Courts, EU law and treaties, European Commission

Police stop and search powers
Published Wednesday, August 7, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers SN03878
This Briefing Paper describes the police stop and search powers and outlines a recent history of their reform. It also discusses the available evidence on the effectiveness of stop and search.

Topics: Drugs crimes, Offensive weapons, Police

Introduction to police powers
Published Wednesday, August 7, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers CBP-8637
This briefing provides an overview of the powers of police personnel. It discusses which police personnel have powers and the three categories of police powers: powers to investigate and prevent crime and powers to 'dispose' of criminal cases.

Topic: Police

Registers of beneficial ownership
Published Wednesday, August 7, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers CBP-8259
This briefing looks at the development of registers of beneficial ownership in the UK and around the world.

Topics: Companies, Privacy, Regulation

Leasehold and commonhold reform
Published Tuesday, August 6, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers CBP-8047
This briefing paper considers trends in leasehold ownership and ongoing problems associated with the sector. The Government has committed to legislate in this area "as soon as Parliamentary time allows".

Topics: Housing, Owner occupation

Obesity Statistics
Published Tuesday, August 6, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers SN03336
28.7% of adults in England are obese. A further 35.6% are overweight but not obese. This briefing provides statistics on the obesity among adults and children in the UK, along with data on bariatric surgery and international comparisons.

Topics: Diseases, Health education and preventive medicine, Health services, Obesity

Prospects for US-Russian nuclear arms control
Published Tuesday, August 6, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers CBP-8421
Bilateral agreements aimed at restricting the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia have been in place since the early 1970s. For the first time in nearly 50 years that nuclear arms control architecture is now potentially heading towards a crisis.

Topics: Arms control, Eastern Europe, Europe, North America, Russia, Western Europe

Indigenous Languages: Are They in Danger?
Published Monday, August 5, 2019 | Lords Library notes LLN-2019-0105
This House of Lords Library Briefing provides information ahead of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples on 9 August 2019.

Topic: Human rights

School inspections in England: Ofsted
Published Monday, August 5, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers SN07091
This briefing paper gives answers to some common questions on Ofsted inspections of state-funded schools in England. It looks at the practicalities of inspection and the implications of Ofsted gradings. It also provides information on current topical issues in inspection.

Topics: Ofsted, Schools

Exchange rates: Key Economic Indicators
Published Monday, August 5, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers SN02811
Exchange rates: Data on the value of the pound relative to other major international currencies.

Topics: Economic policy, Economic situation, World economy

Demise of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty
Published Monday, August 5, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers CBP-8634
On 2 August 2019 the United States formally withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. In place for over 30 years, it was considered a cornerstone of the international arms control architecture as it was the first treaty to eliminate an entire category of weapons from the nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia and ended a nuclear stand-off in Europe. What are the implications of its demise for European security and the arms control agenda more broadly?

Topics: Armed forces, Arms control, Defence policy, International law, North America, Russia

Loneliness: a reading list
Published Monday, August 5, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers CBP-8632
This reading list provides links to various publications considering the causes and impact of loneliness, as well as possible interventions to deal with the issue in society.

Topic: Mental health

Tackling loneliness
Published Monday, August 5, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers CBP-8514
The Government's Loneliness Strategy was published in October 2018. It set out a wide variety of cross-departmental measures that the Government would take to provide 'national leadership' to tackle loneliness in England. As well as explaining the Strategy and the steps taken so far by the Government, this paper also looks at research into the causes and impact of loneliness and possible interventions. Finally, this briefing also briefly outlines the situation in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Topic: Mental health

By-elections since the 2017 General Election
Published Friday, August 2, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers CBP-8280
This Commons Library Briefing Paper sets out results of the by-elections held since the 2017 election. There have been five by-elections so far in this Parliament, the last was held in Brecon and Radnorshire on 1 August 2019. Full details are presented in the associated PDF but an overview of the recent by-election results are shown below.

Topics: By-elections, Election results : UK, House of Commons, Political parties

Legal help: where to go and how to pay
Published Thursday, August 1, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers SN03207
This Commons Library briefing paper provides information about where to seek legal help and advice.

Topics: Legal aid, Legal profession, Personal injury

Britain and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Published Thursday, August 1, 2019 | Lords Library notes LLN-2019-0104
This House of Lords Library Briefing provides information ahead of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

Topic: International organisations

Taxation of banking
Published Thursday, August 1, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers SN05251
This note looks at the public debate over the tax treatment of the banking sector in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, before discussing the different approaches taken in successive years by Labour, Coalition and Conservative Governments

Topics: Financial services, Taxation

Interest Rates and Monetary Policy: Key Economic Indicators
Published Thursday, August 1, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers SN02802
Interest Rates and Monetary Policy: Data on interest rates from the UK, eurozone and the US; a summary of the Bank of England’s and international, quantitative easing policy.

Topics: Economic policy, Economic situation

School uniform costs in England
Published Thursday, August 1, 2019 | Commons Briefing papers CBP-8414
Concerns are regularly raised about the cost of school uniform - this briefing introduces the rules and policy discussion in England, and sets out the support available for school uniform costs across the UK.

Topic: Schools

Displaying 61-80 out of 8693

About libraries

House of Commons Library

The House of Commons Library provides research, analysis and information services for MPs and their staff.

House of Lords Library

The House of Lords Library delivers research and information services to Members and staff of the House in support of parliamentary business.

POST

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology produces independent, balanced and accessible briefings on public policy issues related to science and technology.

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