In a bid to inform and engage the public with the work of the House of Lords and its members, BBC2 have produced a series called Meet The Lords.
The programme is designed to help the House shed its stuffy and ‘entitled’ image, with a detailed description of the focus of the series over on Parliament’s website which opens with this comment:
“Most members of the House of Lords are appointed for life (‘life peers’), and members no longer inherit their seats. Many members have a political background but many come from other professional backgrounds including medicine, the military, business, science and technology, the creative industries and the law.
Members come from different backgrounds and most faiths and ethnic groups in the UK are represented. Many remain active in their careers and apply their professional experience to the House’s work.”
The first episode is called “Meet The Lords” and invites you to listen to a selection of peers talking about their work and the Bills they’ve helped shape. One of the Bills discussed is the Children and Social Work Bill. Baroness King Of Bow, who was responsible for pushing an amendment through to remove a cap on child benefits for adopted children, talks about her efforts. You can watch the first episode here.
Some interesting stats are offered too:
During the 2015-16 session, which ran from 27 May 2015 to 12 May 2016:
- 78 bills were introduced
- 3,678 changes were considered
- 1,254 changes were made
- 27 reports were produced by the main committees
- 710 members spoke in debates
- 779 voted in divisions
- 321 were members of select committees
Having worked extensively with Lords on child welfare issues, Researching Reform is a passionate advocate of the House. Those we know are hard working and deeply committed to social justice, and we admire their courage to push against government policy when it risks harming children and families. A recent example of this can be seen in the way the Lords handled the government’s opt-out plans in the Children and Social Work Bill.
The second episode of Meet The Lords airs on BBC 2 on Monday 6th March, at 9pm.
Follow all the chat on Twitter with #MeetTheLords
