16.) Types of Executive Scrutiny Flashcards
What are the three ways that Parliament tries to scrutinise the executive?
-Debates in the chamber
-Parliamentary questions
-Parliamentary committees
What are two types of parliamentary committee?
-Standing Committee
-Select Committee
Name a parliamentary debate?
August 2013 debate on air strikes in Syria
What happened during the debate on Syria?
Government defeated on their proposal to bomb Syria (285-272)
Why did the government lose the vote despite having a majority?
30 Tories and 9 Lib-Dems rebelled
Why did some MPs, like Ed Miliband oppose the vote?
As they didn’t want a repeat of the Iraq War and the intelligence controversy around it
What comment did Tory MP Cheryl Gillian make that illustrated why some Tories voted against Syrian airstrikes?
“I cannot sit in this House and be duped again…”
As the government couldn’t perform strikes due to Parliament’s vote, what did this imply?
That Parliament had taken control of foreign policy, which is usually the preserve of government
Who can grant an emergency debate?
The Speaker
If granted, how many minutes are given for an MP to make their case?
3 minutes
Name an example of an emergency debate?
The contaminated blood scandal
Why was the emergency debate important?
It led to a full inquiry into contaminated blood
What’s one way that the average MP has been able to influence the Commons through debate?
The Backbench Business Committee, set up in 2010
What does the Backbench Business Committee do to increase MP control over debates?
They select the topic to be debated in the Commons and at Westminster Hall one day each week
How often are Westminster Hall debates held?
4 days a week
What threshold do petitions have to reach to be considered for debate in the Commons?
100,000 signatures
On what day of the week are petitions discussed?
Monday
Name an example of a successful E-petition and the number of signatures it received?
Petition to scrap parking charges for NHS staff - 415,000 signatures
What did the NHS parking petition lead to?
Extra money for NHS staff costs
Name an unsuccessful petition and signatures?
Statutory sick pay for the self employed - 700,000 signatures
Why was the SSP petition unsuccessful?
The government refused to act
What do these examples suggest about the success of E-petitions?
They work some of the time and can make the government act occasionally
Give some points on why debates in Parliament aren’t important?
-MPs rarely change minds thanks to debates
-Party whip system can compel MPs to vote regardless of their opinion
-Westminster Hall debates poorly attended and don’t contain votes, so government can ignore them
-Lords debates’ usefulness limited due to Parliament Acts
What is the most notable type of parliamentary questions better known as?
PMQs
How many questions were asked in 2017-2018?
55,000 questions asked, 50,000 of those were written
How long does prime minister’s questions last each week?
30 mins every Wednesday
What is a patsy question?
One asked by a member of the same political party as the PM, intended to make rival parties look bad
What are some reasons PMQs are effective?
-High profile
-Forces PM to address key issues
-Offers opposition leader chance to look better through debate
-PMQs keep PMs directly accountable to Parliament - Blair comparing them to being led to an execution
What are some reasons PMQs are NOT effective?
-Perfomative, unproductive politics
-Affect how proud the public are of Parliament (Only 12% proud of Parliament because of PMQs - independent Hansard society, 67% think too much point scoring
-Patsy questions
Name another type of questions?
Urgent questions
Who grants the right to ask urgent questions?
The speaker
What are the three types of committee?
-Public bill committees
-Select committees
-Lords committees
What are the advantages of public bill committees?
-Backbench MPs scrutinise legislation in more detail than allowed by GE time constraints
-Two joint chairs from opposition and government
-Effective changes to government bills (Investigatory Powers Act 2016 - safeguards for journalists)
What is the purpose of a select committee?
To hold ministers to account for their decisions, scrutinise legislation and control public money
How do select committees do this?
Launching inquiries
Name a select committee?
The Public Accounts Committee
Who usually chairs the Public Accounts Committee?
A senior opposition backbencher
Between 2017-19 how many reports did select committees produce?
267
What percentage of select committee recommendations is typically accepted by government?
40%
How many members are there in a typical select committee?
11 - with the leader of each committee elected by secret ballot
What else can select committees do?
Review ministerial appointments of certain agencies - E.G Amanda Spielman (Ofsted)
Give reasons why select committees are effective?
-Alternative forum to debates in Commons
-Less partisan than Commons
-Committees often chaired by opposition not government
-Government often act on committee’s findings
-May question witnesses
-Elected by secret ballot, less vulnerable to party whips
Give some reasons select committees are NOT effective
-To be bipartisan, often avoid politicised topics
-Party divides still affect committee votes
-Government always has majority on these committees
-Majority of select committee findings ignored by government
-Party whips control select committee appointments
-Can’t veto appointments government makes
What are the six permanent committees that are the Lords committees?
-European Union Committee
-Science and Technology Committee
-Communications Committee
-Constitution Committee
-Economic Affairs Committee
-International Relations Committee
How many members does a typical Lords committee have?
12
What’s a report that’s been written by one of the Lords committees?
A report on televised election debates by the Communications Commitee
Name a committee that is none of these three?
The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament
What legislation set up the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament?
Intelligence Services Act (1994)
