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A Level Politics - AQA(2017) > 16.) Types of Executive Scrutiny > Flashcards

16.) Types of Executive Scrutiny Flashcards

1
Q

What are the three ways that Parliament tries to scrutinise the executive?

A

-Debates in the chamber
-Parliamentary questions
-Parliamentary committees

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2
Q

What are two types of parliamentary committee?

A

-Standing Committee
-Select Committee

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3
Q

Name a parliamentary debate?

A

August 2013 debate on air strikes in Syria

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4
Q

What happened during the debate on Syria?

A

Government defeated on their proposal to bomb Syria (285-272)

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5
Q

Why did the government lose the vote despite having a majority?

A

30 Tories and 9 Lib-Dems rebelled

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6
Q

Why did some MPs, like Ed Miliband oppose the vote?

A

As they didn’t want a repeat of the Iraq War and the intelligence controversy around it

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7
Q

What comment did Tory MP Cheryl Gillian make that illustrated why some Tories voted against Syrian airstrikes?

A

“I cannot sit in this House and be duped again…”

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8
Q

As the government couldn’t perform strikes due to Parliament’s vote, what did this imply?

A

That Parliament had taken control of foreign policy, which is usually the preserve of government

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9
Q

Who can grant an emergency debate?

A

The Speaker

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10
Q

If granted, how many minutes are given for an MP to make their case?

A

3 minutes

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11
Q

Name an example of an emergency debate?

A

The contaminated blood scandal

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12
Q

Why was the emergency debate important?

A

It led to a full inquiry into contaminated blood

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13
Q

What’s one way that the average MP has been able to influence the Commons through debate?

A

The Backbench Business Committee, set up in 2010

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14
Q

What does the Backbench Business Committee do to increase MP control over debates?

A

They select the topic to be debated in the Commons and at Westminster Hall one day each week

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15
Q

How often are Westminster Hall debates held?

A

4 days a week

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16
Q

What threshold do petitions have to reach to be considered for debate in the Commons?

A

100,000 signatures

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17
Q

On what day of the week are petitions discussed?

A

Monday

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18
Q

Name an example of a successful E-petition and the number of signatures it received?

A

Petition to scrap parking charges for NHS staff - 415,000 signatures

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19
Q

What did the NHS parking petition lead to?

A

Extra money for NHS staff costs

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20
Q

Name an unsuccessful petition and signatures?

A

Statutory sick pay for the self employed - 700,000 signatures

21
Q

Why was the SSP petition unsuccessful?

A

The government refused to act

22
Q

What do these examples suggest about the success of E-petitions?

A

They work some of the time and can make the government act occasionally

23
Q

Give some points on why debates in Parliament aren’t important?

A

-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

24
Q

What is the most notable type of parliamentary questions better known as?

A

PMQs

25
Q

How many questions were asked in 2017-2018?

A

55,000 questions asked, 50,000 of those were written

26
Q

How long does prime minister’s questions last each week?

A

30 mins every Wednesday

27
Q

What is a patsy question?

A

One asked by a member of the same political party as the PM, intended to make rival parties look bad

28
Q

What are some reasons PMQs are effective?

A

-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

29
Q

What are some reasons PMQs are NOT effective?

A

-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

30
Q

Name another type of questions?

A

Urgent questions

31
Q

Who grants the right to ask urgent questions?

A

The speaker

32
Q

What are the three types of committee?

A

-Public bill committees
-Select committees
-Lords committees

33
Q

What are the advantages of public bill committees?

A

-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)

34
Q

What is the purpose of a select committee?

A

To hold ministers to account for their decisions, scrutinise legislation and control public money

35
Q

How do select committees do this?

A

Launching inquiries

36
Q

Name a select committee?

A

The Public Accounts Committee

37
Q

Who usually chairs the Public Accounts Committee?

A

A senior opposition backbencher

38
Q

Between 2017-19 how many reports did select committees produce?

A

267

39
Q

What percentage of select committee recommendations is typically accepted by government?

A

40%

40
Q

How many members are there in a typical select committee?

A

11 - with the leader of each committee elected by secret ballot

41
Q

What else can select committees do?

A

Review ministerial appointments of certain agencies - E.G Amanda Spielman (Ofsted)

42
Q

Give reasons why select committees are effective?

A

-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

43
Q

Give some reasons select committees are NOT effective

A

-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

44
Q

What are the six permanent committees that are the Lords committees?

A

-European Union Committee
-Science and Technology Committee
-Communications Committee
-Constitution Committee
-Economic Affairs Committee
-International Relations Committee

45
Q

How many members does a typical Lords committee have?

A

12

46
Q

What’s a report that’s been written by one of the Lords committees?

A

A report on televised election debates by the Communications Commitee

47
Q

Name a committee that is none of these three?

A

The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament

48
Q

What legislation set up the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament?

A

Intelligence Services Act (1994)

A Level Politics - AQA(2017) (36 decks)

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