IV. Scan the text and complete the sentences about the House of Lords.

1. The house of Lords ….

2. There are ….

3. There were ….

4. Any citizen ….

5. Life peers ….

6. Hereditary peers mean ….

7. The Lords Spiritual ….

8. The Lords Temporal ….

9. The Supreme Court on ….

10. The House of Lords has the power to ….

The House of Lords is the upper house of the British Parliament. Currently, there are about 825 members of the House of Lords. The majority (about 700) are life peers (who are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister for various services to the nation (their titles cannot be inherited; Any British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen who is a UK resident and taxpayer over the age of 21 is eligible to be nominated or can apply to become a member, via the independent House of Lords Appointments Commission), others include 26 archbishops and bishops (When they retire as bishops their membership of the House ceases and is passed on to the next most senior bishop) and 92 hereditary peers (who have inherited their titles). There is no upper limit on the total number of members. The members of the House of Lords are divided into the Lords Temporal and the Lords Spiritual.

The Lords Spiritual are the Archbishops of York and Canterbury, together with twenty-four senior bishops of the Church of England.

The Lords Temporal consists of hereditary peers and life peers.

Until October 2009, the House of Lords was the highest court in the United Kingdom. The Lords of Appeal who were usually known as Law Lords became life peers on their judicial appointments. There were 12 Law Lords, and their role was to hear cases from the lower courts, most often the Court of Appeal. The Law Lords were presided over by the Lord Chancellor. On the commencement of the Supreme Court in October 2009, all current Law Lords became its first Justices.

The first Justices remain Members of the House of Lords, but are unable to sit and vote in the House. All new Justices appointed after October 2009 will be directly appointed to the Supreme Court on the recommendation of a selection commission.

The work of the House of Lords is largely complementary to that of the House of Commons, and includes examining and revising bills from the Commons, and discussing important matters which the Commons cannot find time to debate. The House of Lords doesn’t have the same power as the House of Commons.

It can:

- pass Bills sent to it from the House of Commons;

- amend Bills and send them back to the Commons for approval;

- delay Bills for a limited time;

- start its own Bills, but it must send them to the Commons for approval.

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