Question

To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what checks are made to determine whether peers on the Register are willing to put their names forward for hereditary peer by-elections; and how often any such checks are made.

All those on the register of hereditary peers maintained under Standing Order 9(4) who were members of the House before the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999 indicated their willingness to stand in hereditary peer by-elections, either before the first edition of the Register was issued on 13 November 2002, or subsequently. Hereditary peers who have succeeded to their titles since 1999 are required to petition the House to “direct the Clerk of the Parliaments to enter [them] on the register of hereditary peers who wish to stand in any by-election for election to Your Lordships’ House”.

Every peer on the register is contacted before each by-election to ask if they wish to be a candidate, and if a peer no longer wishes to be included on the register, they can request that their name be removed from it at any time.