What do the House of Lords do?
The House of Lords is the upper house or second chamber in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The House of Lords is an independent body that shares the responsibility of creating laws and inspecting government actions together with the House of Commons. However, in contrast to the House of Commons, the majority of new members of the House of Lords are appointed. In addition to this, the members of the House of Lords can also take up the role of government ministers. The members of the House of Lords have various responsibilities, which they share among themselves; but they have 3 major roles which are illustrated below.
Visit: House of Lords Website
Instructions
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1
Create Laws
The members of the House of Lords consider different bills (draft laws) during half of their time in the House. For the reason that every bill needs to be carefully checked by both Houses of Parliament before they become law. This careful inspection involves careful examination of each bill and the ones that are passed by the members of the House of Lords become Act of Parliament. A lot of these bills are related to our everyday life areas for instance health, education and welfare. -
2
Consider Public Policies in Detail
The members of the House of Lords also debate on various public policies by using their extensive knowledge and experience. Most of these types of debates take place in selected small committees that are formed to discuss particular policy areas. Several of these committees comprise of experts who are working in the related field over which the debate takes place. Moreover, these debates are open for the general public. -
3
Hold Government to Account
These members of the House of Lords also keep a close eye on the government’s works so they can scrutinise them during debate and question time in the chamber. Government ministers, on the other hand, have to respond to their questions during question and debate time. General public are allowed to overlook the chamber from the galleries during business hours. -
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