HOUSE OF LORDS PEERS FACE 20% ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT

Members of the House of Lords should be required to maintain a 20 per cent attendance record and retire at age 80, according to proposals from a committee. The committee has recommended that peers who fail to meet the attendance threshold should lose their seats. These changes form part of wider reforms designed to improve the functioning of the upper chamber.

The proposals address long-standing concerns about participation levels in the House of Lords. Currently, peers are able to attend irregularly without formal consequences, and there is no mandatory retirement age. The committee concluded that introducing measurable attendance standards would encourage greater engagement with parliamentary business. The 20 per cent threshold represents a minimum baseline for active participation in the chamber's work.

The recommendations require approval before they can be implemented as formal rules governing the House of Lords. No timeline has been specified for consideration of the proposals by the relevant authorities. The committee's report forms part of broader discussion about modernising the institution's practices and accountability.