REFORM OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS

That this House notes that on 15 June 2006, the Secretary of State for Justice, then Leader of the House, confirmed in a letter that he agreed that it is an anomaly that those who have broken the law in a manner sufficiently serious to warrant a significant custodial sentence, are able to resume their role in the Lords, and that since then the White Paper entitled The House of Lords: Reform has proposed that the rules in the House of Lords on disqualification should be brought into line with those in the House of Commons; notes with regret that nothing since then has happened to achieve this; further notes that the arrangements for investigating alleged wrongdoing by Members of the House of Lords do not match those in the House of Commons; further notes that one complaint in respect of a Member of the House of Lords has been outstanding for over 11 months; and calls for urgent steps to be taken to remedy the inadequate arrangements for the investigation of allegations, the delays in dealing with allegations and the lack of proper sanctions in the event of a finding of wrongdoing.