2.4 the ways in which parliament interacts with the executive Flashcards
What is parliamentary privilege?
the right of MPs or Lords to make certain statements within parliament without being subject to outside influence, including law
How has the creation of the Backbench Business Committee increased backbenchers role in parliament?
allowed to choose the topic debate on 35 days in each parliamentary session
What percentage of divisions did coalition MPs rebel in between 2010-15?
35%
What percentage of divisions did MPs rebel in between 2005-10?
28%
What is an urgent question?
a device subject to the approval of the speaker of the house and allows an MP to raise an important matter requiring an immediate answer from a government minister
How many urgent questions did Speaker John Bercow allow between 2009-13?
3547
How many urgent questions did Speaker Michael Martin allow between 2000-09?
1234
What is an adjournment debate?
- after official business of the House is over, there is an opportunity to raise an issue and a minister will reply
What is the 10-minute rule?
- allows MPs to speak for 10 minutes on their chosen subject before the beginning of official business on certain days
Why don’t public bill committees necessarily work?
the government has a majority on these committees
Who are backbench members of the HoL most likely to be?
established figures in their own fields
What is the overall role of select committees?
scrutinise the policy, administration and spending of each government department
What does the public accounts committee do?
examines government expenditure, seeking to ensure that value for money is being obtained
What does the liaison committee do?
- consists of the chairs of all the select committees
- questions the prime minister twice a year across the whole field of government policy
What does the committee on standards do?
oversees the work of parliamentary commissioner on standards, including their financial affairs
What is the parliamentary commissioner on standards?
an official who is in charge of regulating MPs conduct
What is the minimum number of backbench MPs a departmental select committee has to have?
11
How is composition of select committees decided?
reflects the balance of a party strength in the House of Commons
How are chairs of select committees chosen?
elected by their fellow MPs
How are members of select committees chosen?
by secret ballot within party groups
What powers do the members of select committees have?
power to gather written and oral evidence and to summon witnesses, including ministers, civil servants, experts and members of the public with a relevant interest
How long do the government have to respond to a report produced by select committees?
two months
Why is select committees work respected?
its evidence-based
How are select committees important?
- scope of the work has widened to include the scrutiny of legislation
- long-serving members can accumulate more knowledge of a particular area than a minister, who only stays in a department for one or two years
- can have a direct influence on government policy
How are select committees not that important?
- majority of select-committee members will be drawn from the governing party
- committees can only cover a limited range of topics in depth
- still a high turnover rate for membership of committees
- committees power to summon witnesses is considerable but not limited (May blocked Home Affairs Select Committee from interviewing the head of MI5, 2013)
What percentage of select-committee recommendations do the government except?
40%
What do House of Lords select committees do?
scrutinise legislation and investigate particular issues
What does the Constitution Committee do?
examines public bills for their constitutional implications and investigates broad constitutional issues
How many days are the opposition parties allocated a year to propose subjects for debate?
20 days
How many days is the leader of the official opposition allocated a year to propose subjects for debate?
17 days
How many days is the second official opposition allocated a year to propose subjects for debate?
3 days
What did the SNP use its allocated days to debate in November 2015?
- Trident nuclear defence system, which they strongly opposed
- closure of HMRC offices
What does the ‘short money’ help with?
provides help with the running costs of the leader of the oppositions office
What is the purpose of short money?
compensate for the fact that, unlike the government, opposition parties do not have access to support from the civil service
What is short money mean to be spent on?
- policy research
- salaries of staff who work for the opposition in parliament
When are PMQs held?
at 12pm for half an hour each Wednesday
What did Tony Blair describe PMQs as?
the most nerve-racking, discombobulating, nail-biting, bowel-moving, terror-inspiring, courage-draining experience
What did Cameron attack Corbyn about once in PMQs?
his choice of suit
How does PMQs involve stage management?
MPs on the government side deliberately asking ‘planted’ questions to present the prime minister in a good light
What dies the rota on which ministers answer questions about their own departments entail?
- more detailed questioning
- ministers are given notice of oral questions so that they can prepare
