"Legislation will be brought forward to reform the House of Lords. This will remove hereditary peers and establish an independent Appointments Commission to select non-party members of the Upper House."

The House of Lords Bill will, according to the government, "complete the first stage of the House of Lords reform by abolishing the hereditary principle completely".

"Centuries of government patronage in deciding the membership of the House of Lords would be ended by this Bill."

The Appointments Commission would be charged with vetting party political nominations and appointing new independent members. It would be accountable to parliament.

The Bill will also bring disqualification for membership to the Lords in line with arrangements in the Commons, meaning Jeffrey Archer will no longer be able to sit as a peer.

Proponents of a fully or partially elected chamber are likely to see the Bill as reneging on the government's manifesto commitment of 2001 to "make it [House of Lords] more representative and democratic".

Many MPs support a fully or partially elected chamber and are unlikely to be satisfied with this Bill.

In February 2003, the House of Commons failed to reach a consensus on a way forward for the second chamber after voting on various options put forward by the joint committee on Lords reform.

An option for an 80 per cent elected: 20 per cent chamber was defeated 284 votes to 281. The option for a fully appointed chamber was defeated 323 to 245.

The closing date for the consultation is December 12 2003.