Britain: An official handbook > 1977

GOVERNMENT
29
The life of a Parliament is divided into sessions. Each usually lasts for one
year—beginning and ending most often in October and interspersed with
‘adjournments’ at night, at weekends, at Christmas, Easter and the spring
holiday and during a long summer recess starting latein July or early in August.
The average number of ‘sitting’ days in a session is about 160 in the House of
Commons and about 140 in the House of Lords. At the start of each session the
Queen’s speech in the House of Lords outlines to the members of both Houses
the Government’s broad policies and proposed legislative programme. Each
session is terminated by prorogation, a prerogative act which appoints the
day of meeting in a new session (on rare occasions Parliament has been
dissolved without prorogation), and a short speech is made on behalf of the
Queen summarising Parliament’s work during the past session. Parliament
then ‘stands prorogued’ until the new session opens. Whereas an adjournment
does not affect uncompleted business, the effect of a prorogation is at once to
terminate nearly all parliamentary business, so that all public Bills not com¬
pleted in the session lapse, and must be reintroduced in the next unless they
are to be abandoned.
The House of The House of Lords consists of the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal.
Lords The Lords Spiritual are the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Bishops
of London, Durham and Winchester, and 21 other bishops of the Church of
England, according to their seniority as diocesan bishops. The Lords Tem¬
poral may be sub-divided into (1) all hereditary peers and peeresses of England,
Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom who have not disclaimed
their peerages under the Peerage Act 1963, (2) all life peers and peeresses
created by the Crown under the Life Peerages Act 1958, and (3) those Lords
of Appeal in Ordinary who are appointed to assist the House in the perfor¬
mance of its judicial duties and who remain members of the House after their
retirement. Hereditary peerages carry with them a right to sit in the House of
Lords (subject to certain statutory disqualifications), provided the holder is
21 years of age or over, but anyone succeeding to a peerage may, within 12
months of succession, disclaim that peerage for his or her lifetime. Dis-
claimants lose their right to sit in the House of Lords but they gain the right
to vote at parliamentary elections and to offer themselves for election to the
House of Commons. No hereditary peerage has been conferred since 1965.
Not all peers with a right to sit in the House of Lords attend the sittings of
that House. Those who do not wish to attend may apply for leave of absence
for the duration of a Parliament.
Peers who frequently attend the House of Lords (the average daily attendance
is about 270) include elder statesmen and others who have spent their lives in
public service. They receive no salary for their parliamentary work, but they
are entitled to travelling expenses from their homes to the Houses of Parlia¬
ment and within specified limits they may claim payments for expenses
incurred in attending the House (except for judicial sittings).
The House of Lords is presided over by the Lord Chancellor, who takes his
place on the woolsack as ex officio Speaker of the House. In the absence of the
Lord Chancellor his place may be taken by a deputy speaker appointed by
the Crown or a deputy chairman appointed by the House or, if neither a
deputy speaker nor a deputy chairman is present, by a speaker chosen by the
Lords present. The first of the deputy speakers is the Lord Chairman of
Committees, who is appointed each session and takes the chair in all commit¬
tees, unless the House otherwise directs. The permanent officers include the
Clerk of the Parliaments, who is responsible for the records of proceedings