An independent Scrutiny Commission could take over the constitutionally valuable roles that the House of Lords presently performs, and at lower cost – whether we move to create an elected second chamber; or reform the unacceptable features of the current House of Lords; or just scrap a second chamber altogether

A key responsibility of the current Lords is its scrutiny function, which might not continue in the same way with the Coalition’s draft bill for a wholly or mainly elected upper chamber. Dawn Oliver looks at how the scrutiny role would be affected by the reforms proposed in the Coalition’s draft White Paper. A Scrutiny Commission of experts would provide a better alternative, however we proceed in electing, reforming or getting rid of the upper chamber