HOUSE OF COMMONS LONDON SW1A 0AA - Dr Kim Howells MP Minister of State for the Middle East & South Asia, Foreign & Commonwealth Office 4" July 2007 Mr Jonathan Bishop 8 Heol y Parc Efail Isat PONTYPRIDD CF38 1AN Dear Mr Bishop, I enclose, for your information and observations, a copy of the reply which I have received from the Leader of the House in relation to the matter that you raised. Best wishes, Yours sincerely, Lom fella DR KIM HOWELLS Member of Parliament for Pontypridd Constituency Address: 16 Tyfica Road, Pontypridd CF37 2DA Tel: 01443 402551 Fax; 01443 485628i LEADER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS Dover House Whitehall LONDON SW1A 2AU Tel: 020 7276 1005 Fax: 0207276 1006 Your Ref: 10031 Our Ref: MP4474 21 June 2007 dee (line, MR JONATHAN BISHOP, 8 HEOL-Y-PARC, EFAIL ISAF, PONTYPRIDD, CF38 1AN Thank you for your letter of 1“June enclosing correspondence from your constituent, Mr Jonathan Bishop, on House of Lords Reform, Mr Bishop has suggested that members of a reformed second chamber should be selected from various organisations. The Royal Commission on Reform of the House of Lords considered the issue of indirect election in 2000. The Commission concluded that there exists a number of obstacles and issues of principle which dissuaded it from this approach. ‘The Commission thought that there would be practical difficulties in reaching agreement on which institutions should be represented and on the balance between those institutions within the House of Lords. The Government agrees with the Commission’s conclusions, as set out on page 33 of the White Paper, The House of Lords: Reform. It can be viewed at: NV. nt/cm7 In the debates and free votes in the House of Commons on 6 and 7 March Members voted to remove the remaining hereditary peers and for an 80% elected and 100% elected House of Lords. The debates and votes in the House of Lords on 12, 13 and 14 March resulted in a vote for a 100% appointed House of Lords. Any changes to the system of appointment to the House of Lords will be considered in the wider context of the debate on House of Lords reform. The Leader of the House Jack Straw has now reconvened the cross-party group, which he chairs, to assess the outcome of the debate and free votes in both Houses and to discuss the range of views held on the electoral system. He will retum to the House of Commons to make a detailed statement on the way forward. email: leader@commonsleader.x.gsi-gov.uk www.commonsleader.gov.uk