United Kingdom

House of Lords

Political system: Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament: Bicameral
IPU membership: Yes

Openness and transparency

Information about access to parliamentary documents, parliament’s reporting to the public, parliament’s relation to Freedom of Information laws, and lobbying.

Parliamentary documents

The agendas of plenary meetings are published online in advance: All
The agendas of committee meetings are published online in advance: Some
Results of votes on draft legislation are published on the parliamentary web site: All
Draft legislation is published on the parliamentary website: All
Citizens can submit comments on draft legislation on the parliamentary web site: No

Annual reporting by parliament

Parliament publishes an annual report on its activities: Yes
The annual report is available on the parliamentary web site: Yes
Parliament publishes the parliamentary budget: Yes
Level of detail of the parliamentary budget made available to the public: A summary of the main elements
The parliamentary budget is available on the parliamentary web site: Yes
Link to the parliamentary budget: https://www.theipsa.org.uk/annual-reports

Access to parliament

Plenary meetings are open to the public: Yes

Notes:
It is technically possible for the House to resolve to sit in private, but this power is exercised so rarely as to be irrelevant.

The public gallery can be cleared if the house passes a motion to sit in private. This is usually employed to delay the business of the House, rather than to deliberately conduct proceedings in camera.
Committee meetings are open to the public: Yes

Notes: Legislative committees meet in public; select (investigative) committees meet in public for the vast majority of evidence-taking but in private for deliberative purposes.
There is a dedicated channel for broadcasting parliamentary meetings: Yes
Media used for the dedicated channel: TV

Webcast
Meetings broadcast on the dedicated channel: Plenary sittings

Committee meetings

Freedom of information

There is a freedom of information law in the country: Yes
Parliament is subject to the freedom of information law: Yes
Parliament has an office/division dedicated to FOI requests: Yes
Categories of Information that are exempt from disclosure: Freedom of Information Act 2000, sections 21-44.

A range of general exemptions apply, relating to security, legal processes, policy advice, etc. Parliament is exempt from responding to FOI requests that would infringe on parliamentary privilege. In addition, there are other general exemptions from disclosure that could apply to Parliament, such as national security and privacy for personal information.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/contents

https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/freedom-of-information-exemptions.pdf

Lobbying

There are rules about the activities of lobbyists in parliament: Yes

Notes: Anyone can lobby their MP and it is the responsibility of Members to declare any conflicts of interest that may arise from this. A statutory list of professional lobbyists is maintained by the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, but this regulates the lobbying of Members in their capacity as government ministers, rather than as parliamentarians.

Sources:
Rules: https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-an-mp-or-lord/lobbying-parliament/

Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists: https://registrarofconsultantlobbyists.org.uk
There is a register of accredited lobbyists: No

United Kingdom

House of Lords

Openness and transparency

Parliamentary documents

Annual reporting by parliament

Access to parliament

Freedom of information

Lobbying

Historical data for IPU membership