Overview

The House of Lords (Parliamentary Standards Etc.) Bill aims to reform the House of Lords by transferring responsibility for managing Lords' expenses to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), reducing the number of peers, and introducing compulsory retirement conditions for some members.

Description

This bill makes several key changes:

• Expense Management: The bill repeals Section 2 of the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 and introduces a new section (10B) transferring the responsibility for determining, paying, overseeing, and adjudicating complaints related to the allowances, expenses, and financial interests of House of Lords members to IPSA. Lords will be able to choose between a flat-rate annual allowance or a system of claimed expenses.
• Peer Numbers: The maximum number of peers in the House of Lords will be capped at 650, effective January 1st, 2020. The Secretary of State can create regulations to implement this, requiring approval from both Houses of Parliament.
• Compulsory Retirement: While not explicitly detailed in the provided text, the bill's title indicates it will amend the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 to include provisions for the compulsory retirement of some Lords under specific conditions (details of these conditions are not provided in the text).

Government Spending

The bill's impact on government spending is not explicitly stated. The transfer of expense management to IPSA might lead to some cost shifts, but the overall budgetary impact is uncertain without further information.

Groups Affected

• Members of the House of Lords: Will be directly affected by changes to their expense arrangements, potential compulsory retirements, and the reduction in the overall number of peers.
• Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA): Will take on increased responsibilities for managing Lords' expenses.
• The Secretary of State: Will have responsibility for creating and implementing regulations to reduce the number of peers.
• Taxpayers: Will ultimately bear the cost of the Lords' allowances and expenses.

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