Found: /news/2025/march/employment-rights-bill-debated-by-lords; committee stage of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

Found: House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill • None.33 LEGISLATIVE STANDARDS OF THE CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE:

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 19 June 2025, on House of Lords Appointments, HCWS718, whether the Prime Minister has a target size for the number of sitting peers in the House of Lords.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

As appointments are for life, the second chamber has become too big. The Government’s manifesto therefore included a commitment to introduce a retirement age for members of the House of Lords.

The Government intends to propose the establishment of a dedicated select committee in the House of Lords to look at how best to implement the manifesto commitments on a retirement age and participation requirement, following the passage of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill on the Salisbury-Addison Convention in the House of Lords.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The conventions concerning the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords are unaffected by the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. The Bill fulfills a manifesto commitment to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. As such, the Bill clearly engages the Salisbury-Addison convention.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish a timeline for subsequent House of Lords reform after the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill has concluded.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Alongside the passage of the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, the government has been engaged in a dialogue with the House on how we can best implement the Government’s other manifesto commitments. I look forward to continuing that dialogue and considering how to approach it in a more structured way.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number and percentage of hereditary Peers in the House of Lords with experience of running and growing a business, and how this compares with the rest of the House; what assessment they have made of the impact of the removal of hereditary Peers from the House of Lords on its scrutiny of legislation and its role in holding the Government to account; and what steps they are taking to ensure that relevant business experience is maintained in the House.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government recognises and values the contributions hereditary peers have made to the House of Lords.

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill delivers the Government’s manifesto commitment to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords, completing the work of the House of Lords Act 1999. In the 21st century there should not be places reserved in the legislature for people born into certain families.

The Government is supportive of the inclusion of individuals from all backgrounds in the House of Lords and believes the second chamber is enriched by members who bring diverse experience and expertise. This includes members with business experience.

Found: House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill 2024-25: Progress of the bill

Found: • Crime and Policing Bill • Data (Use and Access) Bill • Employment Rights Bill • House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill