Parliament Explained: Civil Service Communicators
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
0 likes•205 views
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (19)
Similar to Parliament Explained: Civil Service Communicators
Similar to Parliament Explained: Civil Service Communicators (20)
More from UK Parliament Outreach and Engagement Service
More from UK Parliament Outreach and Engagement Service (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Parliament Explained: Civil Service Communicators
- 2. Part 1: What is Parliament? Part 2: Legislation Break Part 3: Scrutiny of Government Part 4: Public Engagement with Parliament
- 5. House of Commons House of Lords The Monarch
- 6. Makes and passes laws (Legislation) Holds Government to account Enables the Government to set taxes
- 7. The party or parties who can command the confidence of the House of Commons forms the Government The Government: runs Government departments proposes new laws to Parliament is accountable to Parliament
- 8. • Commons, Lords, Monarch • Holds Government to account • Passes laws • Enables taxation • Represents public • Raises key issues • Some MPs and some Lords • Chosen by the Prime Minister • Runs Government departments and public services • Accountable to Parliament Government (Whitehall)
- 10. The democratically elected chamber of Parliament There are currently 650 MPs All MPs are elected every 5 years
- 12. The second Chamber, also known as the revising House No party, or combination of parties has an overall majority in the House of Lords There are also many Cross-Benchers in the Lords, who are independent of party Around 760 eligible Peers
- 13. Scrutinise legislation in detail Hold Ministers to account through questions and debates Debate key issues at length and in detail Scrutinise EU legislation Bring experience to bear on issues of the day
- 17. Government and individual members can propose laws All legislation proposed by the Government must be scrutinised by both Houses of Parliament Members can suggest changes (“amendments”) at particular stages Much of the most careful scrutiny goes on in Committee, particularly in the House of Lords
- 18. A bill can start in either the Lords or Commons Both Houses must agree on a text Must pass by the end of the Parliamentary Session (but can sometimes “carry-over”) Procedures balance need for scrutiny and Government right to its programme
- 19. The Government publishes some Bills in draft form before they are introduced formally in Parliament These draft Bills will usually be accompanied by a Government consultation They receive pre-legislative scrutiny in Parliament The draft Bill will be considered either by an existing Select Committee or a Committee put together specially for this purpose
- 20. Public Bills ◦ either Government or Private Members’ Bills Private Bills ◦ “legislation of a special kind for conferring particular powers or benefits on any person or body of persons – including individuals, local authorities, companies, or corporations” (Erskine May) Hybrid Bills ◦ affect “a particular private interest in a manner different from the private interest of other persons or bodies of the same category or class” (Speaker Hylton-Foster) Eg. Crossrail Bill
- 22. First substantive proceedings on the Bill, usually a whole day Debate on general principles of Bill Debate will usually be opened or wound up by Cabinet minister in charge of the Bill Opponents of a Bill can table a “reasoned amendment” – statement of reasons why Bill should be rejected Often no vote at Second Reading
- 23. Most Bills committed to a Public Bill Committee Some Bills considered “in Committee” on the floor of the House: known as Committee of the whole House (CwH) ◦ Major constitutional importance (e.g. Fixed- Term Parliaments Bill) ◦ Emergency legislation (e.g. Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Bill) Bills can be divided between CwH and PBC – Finance Bill
- 24. 1.Take oral and written evidence ◦ Public can submit evidence like a Select Committee inquiry ◦ Written evidence published on website and circulated to Members 2.Line-by-line scrutiny of the Bill
- 25. Whip Whip
- 26. Can be tabled by any Member of the House Clerks advise backbenchers and Opposition front bench on amendments as required Amendments grouped together to assist debate Amendments must be in order: relevant and within scope Chair has power of selection of amendments Not all amendments formally put to decision Tip: amendment papers can be found on the Bill pages at www.parliament.uk/business/bills-and- legislation
- 27. New version of Bill “as amended in Committee” printed and debated on the floor of the House Any Member can table amendments Grouping and selection as at Committee, but more stringent Different order of consideration ◦ New clauses ◦ Amendments to clauses ◦ New schedules ◦ Amendments to schedules Third Reading: ◦ one hour, immediately after Report ◦ Similar to Second Reading
- 28. After Third Reading, Bill goes to the House of Lords Lords undertakes same process with some differences ◦ Committee stage in the Lords on the floor of the House ◦ No programming ◦ Amendments possible at Third Reading ◦ Financial legislation (“Money Bills”) passed with little scrutiny ◦ No Government majority
- 29. Either: ◦ No amendments in Lords, straight to Royal Assent Or: ◦ amendments sent back to Commons for consideration ◦ Commons can accept, disagree, amend, offer amendments in lieu ◦ “ping-pong” between Houses can go on for some time ◦ Bill can be lost on “double insistence” ◦ Reasons Committees
- 30. Once both Houses agree the text of a Bill, submitted to the Queen for Royal Assent Speaker announces Royal Assent in the Commons
- 31. The Parliament Act 1911 and the Parliament Act 1949 define the relationship between the Commons and the Lords in terms of the passage of legislation If Commons passes a Bill in two successive Sessions and the Lords rejects it, it can become law after the second rejection without the consent of the Lords Used very rarely – last was the passage of the Hunting Act 2004
- 32. MPs and Lords can introduce their own Bills In the Commons, MPs can bring in a Bill through the 10-minute rule MPs can also enter the Private Members Bill ballot every session Members of both Houses can also simply present new Bills, but they are not guaranteed any debating time
- 36. Questions to Ministers Urgent questions Opposition and Back- Bench debates Adjournment debates/questions for short debate Questions after statements
- 37. Select Committees in the Commons and Lords conduct detailed inquiries into direction and impact of Government policy All-Party Parliamentary Groups allow members of both Houses to find out more about particular issues
- 41. Membership reflects balance of parties in the House Since 2010, Chairs elected by House- wide ballot Other members elected by their parties
- 42. “At the office all the morning, where comes a damned summons to attend the Committee of Miscarriages to-day, which makes me mad, that I should by my place become the hackney of this Office, in perpetual trouble and vexation, that need it least.” ~ Sam. Pepys
- 43. To hold Ministers and Departments to account for their policy and decision- making and to support the House in its control of the supply of public money and scrutiny of legislation
- 44. Seek written submissions Hold public evidence sessions Visits Produce reports Issue can be debated in Chamber following Government Response
- 47. Write to an MP or Peer about an issue Ask an MP to present a public petition Submit evidence to a Select Committee Inquiry Submit evidence to a Public Bill Committee Visit Parliament – open to everyone!
- 48. Parliament Explained: Delegated Legislation 8 May 2014, Thatcher Room parliamentaryoutreach@parliament.uk 0207 219 1650 Don’t forget our evaluation form
- 49. www.parliament.uk Lloyd Owen Head of Campaigns Management, Public Information and Outreach Service e:owenl@parliament.uk t:020 7219 7374 www.parliament.uk/outreach
Editor's Notes
- general principles of the Bill, not strictly limited to its contents – may include circumstances surrounding Bill or alternative means of attaining Bill’s purpose
- Northern Ireland Misc recent example divided committal
- Witnesses agreed between Government and Opposition Whips – includes MinisterEvidence can help inform subsequent debate on scrutiny of Bill
- Appointed by the Committee of Selection; usually 18 Members but can be more or fewerProportions reflect political composition of the Commons as a wholeJunior minister in charge of the Bill, Government Whip, Opposition spokesman, Opposition Whip, + backbenchersChaired by a member of the Panel of Chairs, senior backbench MPs appointed by the SpeakerGenerally meet mornings and afternoons, Tuesdays and ThursdaysUsually managed by a clerk in the Public Bill Office
- Only member of PBC can move an amendment New version
- Scope limited to contents of the BillTheoretically possible to move reasoned amendment but extremely rare
- Clerk walks the hard copy and is received by a clerk in the LordsBill endorsed in Norman French by the Clerk of the House and accompanied by a Message
- Both Houses have to agree on exact text of every Bill
- RA a matter of course; no Bill has been refused since 1707/8 – Queen AnneFormula is “La Reyne le veult” (“The Queen consents”); formula for rejection is “La Reyne se avisera” (“The Queen will take advice”: i.e. “no”)
- 1949 act reduced delaying powers of the Lords
- Different types of select committeeIn the Commons: Departmental (one per Government department)Other scrutiny Committees – PAC (the Environmental Audit (cross cutting); Political and Constitutional Reform; PASC; European Scrutiny; SCSI; Reg ReformJoint Committees – Joint Committee on human rights; JCSITemporary Committees (one house or both) with specific orders of reference, e.g. to examine a draft Bill and reportAnd there are internal Committees eg Liaison Committee, Administration Committee, Procedure Committee, Committee on Standards, Committee on Privileges, Committee of Selection (described as “a committee whose job it is to meet”)Added to which, in 2011 a new breed of Parliamentary investigatory body was established: the Parliamentary Commission. Distinguished from committees which are established by statute rather than by order of either House, and whose members are appointed or nominated by means other than by vote of that House: House of Commons Commission; Public Accounts Commission; Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission; SCIPSA; Ecclesiastical Committee; Intelligence and Security Committee.All this goes to illustrate the complexity of the select committee system in both Houses.
- Departmental select committees are appointed to scrutinise the spending, policy and administration of Government departments. They are one of the most widely known and public means by which Parliament holds Government —and, increasingly, bodies outside Government—to account
- History of select committees (briefly, main point being they did not start in 1979)The departmental select committee system is so well-established that it is often forgotten that it was set up just over thirty years ago, at the beginning of the Thatcher administration. The Leader of the House in MT’s first Cabinet, Norman St John-Stevas, is credited with proposing and driving through the establishment of the modern select committee system in 1979. Committees were appointed by the House to examine various matters as early as the reign of Charles I, and by 1668 a committee of the Commons had taken the bold step of launching an inquiry into the conduct of an entire war.The Dutch raid on the English fleet in the Medway in June 1667 was a political and military catastrophe: the flagship of the English fleet, the Royal Charles, was captured and hauled off to Amsterdam. The transom of the ship is still on display in the Rijksmuseum as a war trophy.The English swiftly sued for peace and in return got to keep a small settlement on an island off the eastern seaboard of the North American continent, then named New Amsterdam.A Committee “to inquire into the Miscarriage of Affairs in the late War” was set up by the Commons. It wanted answers, many of them from one Samuel Pepys, Clerk of the Acts of the Navy Board. It is clear from an entry in Pepys’ diary for February 1668 that the Committee, reaching the end of its investigations, had called him back once too often to answer questions on matters which had not been his responsibility. Present-day civil servants may have some sympathy with him.
- In May 2002 the Liaison Committee proposed core tasks for select committees. Designed to ensure that select committees to carry out the full range of activities currently open to them. Agreed to by the House: provide a framework for Committee activity.Updated in 2012 by Liaison Committee report on Select Committee effectiveness, resources and powers. What select Committees do not doDo not have executive authority for example, can hold a pre appointment hearing, but do not make the final decision about who will be appointed. The Government does this. Do not have a formal legislative role. In this way very different from, for example, US Congressional Committees and committees of the Scottish Parliament(Although do carry out pre-legislative scrutiny)Do not have a role in voting for or against budgetary items decisions, although they do scrutinise Departmental accounts