Functions of the House of Lords

Political Studies: Edexcel A Level, topic 9.1.3

The main functions of the House of Lords include law-making, scrutiny of the government and investigating public policy and representation.

The House of Lords proposes and debates bills in a similar way to the House of Commons and scrutinises the bill through the use of committees.
The House of Lords proposes amendments to bills during the law-making process, which are considered by the House of Commons.
The House of Lords can delay the passage of a bill through Parliament if they do not agree with the bill.
The House of Lords can defeat the government by not passing a bill, and send it back down to parliament, which does not kill the bill. The Lords can defeat secondary legislation.

Scrutiny of the government takes place in the form of written and spoken questions put to government and through debates over policy.

The House of Lords investigates and debates important public policy issues.
Select committees in the House of Lords conduct investigations into policy areas, by hearing evidence from a range of people including experts in the policy area and ministers.
From 2016-2017, the House of Lords produced 41 reports on policy areas including Brexit and autonomous vehicles.

The House of Lords contains peers who may represent groups underrepresented in elected politics.
The House of Lords represents expertise from across society and a range of different professional backgrounds.
The House of Lords also represents different political views.
As of 2026, the Conservatives remain the largest group, followed by Labour, with no overall majority
There are around 170–180 crossbenchers who do not align themselves with any party.

Effectiveness of Functions: Functions Fulfilled

There is a debate over the extent to which the House of Lords fulfils its functions

Bills are thoroughly debated and scrutinised in the House of Lords before progressing through their stages and being passed into law.
The House of Lords contains experts who can provide input into debates and committee reviews of bills.
Lord Krebs is a zoologist and an expert in the field of science and was the former President of the British Science Association.
Lord Winston is a medical doctor and fertility expert who has contributed scientific expertise to debates on healthcare and medical ethics.

Each government department has a member of the House of Lords linked to it that will face questions during question time from other Lords.
Questioning of the government happens for 30 minutes each day from Monday to Thursday.
The House of Lords submits written questions to the government.
In the 2022-23 session, over 18,000 written and oral questions were put to the government
The House of Lords makes sure that a government with a large majority is held to account by debating and proposing amendments to bills.

No single party controls the House of Lords, increasing non-partisanship in the chamber.
Life peerages mean that Lords don't have to worry about losing their position if they disobey a whip.
Lords don't have constituencies, so they can spend more time in parliament scrutinising the government.

In 2015, the House of Lords voted to delay cuts to tax credits.
In response, the proposed cuts were delayed and modified in the Autumn statement the next month.
The European Union withdrawal bill had been defeated in the Lords a total of 17 times by October 2018.
The House of Lords forced legislation changes, such as making a meaningful vote for parliament, and ensuring that EU environmental law is still applied after Brexit.

The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 will remove all remaining hereditary peers.
The Lords Spiritual (Women) Act in 2015 (extended in 2025) means that if a woman becomes a diocesan bishop, she joins the next vacancy for bishops in the House of Lords until 2030.
Members of the House of Lords represent and advocate for diverse groups in Parliament.
Baron Bird advocates for homeless people.
Members of the House of Lords debate issues of importance to the public, such as housing and the economy.

There is a debate over the extent to which the House of Lords fulfils its functions.

The House of Lords is not able to stop legislation passing through which it disagrees with, it can only delay and propose amendments to bills.
In 2017 the House of Commons rejected two amendments made by the House of Lords to a bill which enabled the UK to start negotiations to leave the European Union.
The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 prevent the House of Lords from stopping legislation passing through Parliament and from debating a money bill, which is a bill that only involves government spending or taxation.
The Salisbury Convention means that the House of Lords is unable to oppose policies in the manifesto of the elected government.

Some members of the House of Lords don't fulfil their role in parliament, only turning up to receive their expenses.
Data from the 2019-24 parliament shows a significant number of peers claimed large expenses despite speaking rarely in the chamber.
The House of Lords has the same difficulties as the House of Commons when posing written and spoken questions to the government.

Members are not elected by the public, and the chamber doesn't directly represent citizens like the House of Commons does.
The majority of the other peers were appointed by party leaders through the power of patronage, instead of independently.
Over half of the members are over 70.
Church of England bishops are in the House of Lords, but no representatives from any other religion.

Which of these statements are true about the functions of the House of Lords?
What is a crossbench peer?
Which law means that if a woman becomes a diocesan bishop, she joins the next vacancy for bishops in the House of Lords until 2030?
Which of these denominations is represented in the Lords Spiritual of the House of Lords?
Which convention means that the House of Lords is unable to oppose policies in the manifesto of the elected government?