Peers keep mentioning the Burns report - so what was it?

The Lord Speaker's committee on the size of the House was established on 20 December 2016 to explore ways to reduce the size of the House of Lords.

The report of the committee was published on 31 October 2017.

Known as the Burns report, it recommended the House of Lords be reduced to 600 members, and its size capped at that number.

It would - for the first time in history - establish a maximum size of the House of Lords and link its composition to general election results.

Read more about the report here, external.

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Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town says that she regrets the amendment to the motion because it would result in another second reading.

The Labour peer says that the House of Commons is reducing its number by 50 "as if that has no impact" on the size of the Lords. She calls it "extraordinary" that the government will do nothing on the issue of hereditary peers.

She says this hereditary by-elections system just brings more men into the Lords.

Lord Adonis interjects and asks what Labour are doing to make the House of Lords an elected second chamber.

She replies that the Labour party is not in government.

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Government spokesperson Lord Young of Cookham says the government has "reservations" but has no plans to block the bill's progress.

He points out that previous Labour governments never introduced "comprehensive reforms" whereas the coalition government did. These reforms failed in the House of Commons.

The Conservative peer says it was clear in the last Conservative manifesto that Lords reform legislation was not a priority. Instead, the government supports "incremental reforms" that "commands" the consensus of the House.

He adds that the bill has no prospect of passing through the House of Commons and recommends continuing with the Burns report.

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Labour peer Lord Blunkett says that the Burns report is second phase of House of Lords reform and jokes a Jeremy Corbyn phase three could "disturb" the bench opposite more than hereditary peers reform.

He says that unless the issue of hereditary peers is addressed in the way Lord Grocott proposes, the Conservative benches will find themselves in "difficulty." He warns they could lose life peers for hereditary peers.

Crossbencher Lord Brown of Eaton-Under-Heywood agrees with the bill and says it will "enhance" the image of the House of Lords. He sees "positive merit" in the reform being achieved by a Lord's private member's bill.

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Labour peer Lord Grocott begs the House to resolve into a committee on his House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) (Abolition of By-Elections).

Conservative peer Lord Trefgarne says he is not opposed House of Lords reform "in principle" but says that the bill "contravenes" the undertakings given in 1999 during the passing of the House of Lords Act.

Conservative and hereditary peer Lord Northbrook agrees and says important constitutional legislation should be brought forward by the government and not a private member's bill. He add that he "cannot understand" the need for reform when by-election has produced such "capable replacements".

He concludes it is more "urgent" to reform the life peer system.

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It is a sitting Friday for the Lords and business begins with the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) (Abolition of By-Elections) Bill at committee stage.

The bill has been introduced by Labour's Lord Grocott and aims to abolish the system of by-elections which replaces the 92 hereditary peers who sit in the Lords, when one of their number retires or dies.

Two motions of regret have been tabled relating to the bill, the first by Conservative ex-minister Lord Trefgame, who consistently opposes Lord Grocott’s attempts to change the system relating to hereditary peers. The second motion is tabled by Labour ex-minister Lord Adonis.

The final business of the day is the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Bill at second reading. Steve Reed MP’s private member’s bill, known as Seni’s Law, would restrict the use of force against patients in mental health units, and require police officers to wear body cameras when dealing with vulnerable people.

It is named after Olaseni Lewis, who died in September 2010, after being restrained by police officers at Bethlem Royal Hospital in London.

The bill is supported by the government and is expected to become law.

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The Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley told MPs that she is cutting Stormont Assembly members' pay.

Northern Ireland has been without an executive since January 2017 after a bitter row between the governing parties, the DUP and Sinn Féin.

Ms Bradley told MPs that she has also ruled out calling a fresh Assembly election and she is to bring forward legislation to allow civil servants to make decisions in the absence of devolution.

MLA pay will fall in November from £49,500 to £35,888.

We'll be leaving our coverage there for today.

The day in the Commons began with questions to Digital, Culture, Media and Sport ministers, followed by questions to the Attorney General.

The Northern Ireland Secretary then delivered a statement on Stormont, in which she announced LMA pay would be cut while the devolved administration remains divided.

A number of committee statements were followed by debates on the impact of Brexit on science, and the concept of global Britain.

We saw the Lords debate health data, prison safety and careers guidance, whilst they also responded to the statement on Northern Ireland.

Join us tomorrow, as the Lords considers private members' bills.

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Conservative Lord Cormack says there needs to be more of a partnership between schools and local businesses to provide the most comprehensive careers advice.

"You can't teach careers education, you have to cooperate with those who provide career opportunities in the area."

Lord Cormack says the obsession that every student is a failure if he or she does not progress to university is leaving the country in danger of losing sight of how rewarding a career in the crafts can be.

He also challenges outlawing unpaid internships, saying that whilst young people should not be exploited, these are great opportunities for young people to learn about a particular industry.

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Tom Tugendhat brings the debate to a close, focussing attention on India, stating that "a global Britain without India, a global Britain without our partner, our ally and our friend is not one that I think many of us can envision."

He references generations like Windrush, who he says are vital in establishing a "truly global Britain".

The upbeat assessment comes after claims Michel Barnier called the UK plan "dead in the water".

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Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt says the country has "always been Global Britain" and the UK has been enhanced by "alliances".

He says that one of the "problems" of Brexit is the UK will lose the "automatic political structures" the EU provided. He adds "we have to find a way to reengage".

Mr Burt says "at the heart" of policy is a determination to prevent conflict and says the failure of governments is "catastrophic" in that regard.

The Foreign Office minister says compromise is "messy" and that the restatement of values does not always result in "what we want".

He tells the House that Global Britain describes the government's vision for the country as an "outward facing, globally engaged nation, influencing and leading on the world stage".

He concludes that "it is understandable" to "characterise" recent crises in foreign affairs as a challenge to world order but tells the House not to mistake "evolution for fragility" or to allow benign undermining of the rules.

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Crossbench peer Baroness Coussins says it is wrongly perceived that language qualifications are just for the highest achieving students.

She says languages can be the gateway to better career choices, and notes that foreign language skills are in use in practically every sector of the economy.

Due to this, Baroness Coussins says she applauds the minister's efforts to increase the quality of languages education in the UK, but says more importance needs to be placed on the teaching of languages in early years.

"Google translate can only help up to a point."

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Shadow Foreign secretary Emily Thornberry says that today's debate is an apt way to pay tribute to former head of the United Nations, Kofi Annan.

She quotes his suggestion that those who campaigned to end the slave trade proved that "moral persuasion could prevail over narrow self interest". This, she says, is what today's debate boils down to.

"When we talk about global Britain, do we mean just aggressively pursuing economic self interest around the world in the shape of trade deals, or do we believe in a Britain acting as a global force of moral truth, of moral passion, of moral persuasion and seeking to change the world in which we live?"

She agrees with comments about the need to tackle issues such as the actions of Russia and the plight of the Rohingya, but also global warming.

She says international law and order is being ignored.

"In Russia, Israel and the United States, we see three leaders behaving as if none of the normal laws apply to them.

"Faced with these challenges, it is incumbent on all of us to stand up for world order... but we cannot do that if the concept of global Britain, if our entire foreign policy approach, is not driven by values, or ethics, rules or principles, but a simple case of what works best for our balance sheet."

She says the government is failing to act morally, and instead prioritises financial gain.

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The Bishop of Ely says more comprehensive careers advice is fundamental for young people in countryside areas and coastal towns where there is less social mobility.

He says the strategy needs to be rolled out as fully as possible, and that there is an issue in schools where teachers are unwilling to promote apprenticeships to high achieving students.

"We need to aim at encouraging young people to go for the careers that possibly don't have the best pay cheque, but most importantly, are the careers they want to do."

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The SNP's Kirsty Blackman says that a Global Britain should focus on sustainable development goals as well as building peace and capacity in other countries.

She says that Britain's influence in the world has been "entirely disproportionate" to its size because of its Empire.

She says that some of the rhetoric attempts to drag the UK backward to 30 years ago and suggests that instead that foreign policy should create "the world we want to live in".

Ms Blackman critises the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia and calls for the UK to use its influence to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.

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Making her maiden speech to the House, crossbench peer Baroness Bull thanks the late Baroness Jowell for supporting her nomination.

Baroness Bull discusses her background as a former ballet dancer, and how she progressed to creative director of the Royal Opera House via the broadcast media.

She says that a life of careers, like hers, rather than a career for life, might be the path for many young people, and that this stresses the importance of careers education.

Baroness Bull says that good careers advice is of disproportionate value to pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds as it opens their eyes to career opportunities that they may not think are available for people like them, and helps to tackle stereotypes.

"Good careers advice is vital to ensure that all young people, whichever career path they choose, are well prepared to navigate the current job market."

She argues that creative jobs will be most desirable in the future, and that more emphasis in careers education should be placed on the sound option of a career in the arts.

"Creative job opportunities should be regarded at the same level as careers deriving from STEM subjects."

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Conservative Julia Lopez says that in Brexit the UK is managing the "most momentous political change" and that this taking place when the effectiveness of international governance structures are being questioned and power dynamics are shifting.

She says that World War II structures are struggling to reflect new world realities.

She says that "certainty" is being challenged as China and other nations grow in economic power and add that these trends are "unnerving".

She concludes that there is no room in Brexit for "nostalgia" but adds the UK is not an "irrelevance" on the global stage.

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Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Lord Storey says as a former primary school teacher he follows the careers of those that he taught with interest.

He says that those that had the best careers advice went further and achieved more.

Tory Lord Gilbert of Panteg calls for an end of unpaid internships and says it is vital that all children have access to creative arts subjects. He says good careers and education services are vital in "ensuring equality of opportunity for all".