The Services Committee is a select committee of the House of Lords which supports the House of Lords Commission. [1]
As of January 2024, the members of the committee are as follows: [2]
Member | Party | |
---|---|---|
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Chair) | Labour | |
Lord Faulkner of Worcester | Labour | |
Lord Hogan-Howe | Crossbench | |
Lord Howard of Rising | Conservative | |
Baroness Hussein-Ece | Liberal Democrat | |
Earl of Kinnoull | Crossbench | |
Baroness Stedman-Scott | Conservative | |
Lord Stoneham of Droxford | Liberal Democrat | |
Baroness Wheeler | Labour | |
Baroness Williams of Trafford | Conservative |
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest institutions in the world, its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century.
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as members of Parliament (MPs). MPs are elected to represent constituencies by the first-past-the-post system and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved.
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster in London. Parliament possesses legislative supremacy and thereby holds ultimate power over all other political bodies in the United Kingdom and the Overseas Territories. While Parliament is bicameral, it has three parts: the sovereign (King-in-Parliament), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. In theory, power is officially vested in the King-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the prime minister, and the powers of the House of Lords are limited to only delaying legislation; thus power is de facto vested in the House of Commons.
Whilst the House of Lords of the United Kingdom is the upper chamber of Parliament and has government ministers, for many centuries it had a judicial function. It functioned as a court of first instance for the trials of peers and for impeachments, and as a court of last resort in the United Kingdom and prior, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of England.
The House of Lords Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats ; the Act removed such a right. However, as part of a compromise, the Act did permit ninety-two hereditary peers to remain in the House. Another ten were created life peers to enable them to remain in the House.
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The father of the House is a title that is bestowed on the senior member of the House of Commons who has the longest continuous service. If two or more members have the same length of current uninterrupted service, then whoever was sworn in earliest, as listed in Hansard, is named as Father of the House.
The House of Lords Commission is a select committee of the House of Lords which provides strategic and political direction for the House of Lords Administration. Its remit also includes approving the annual Estimate, overseeing financial support arrangements for peers, and delegate various functions to the Services, Finance, and Audit committees.