9.1b Functions of the House of Commons

Question 1

Scrutiny

Answer 1

Scrutiny of the executive is when the party in government is held to account for their actions.

MPs can question government ministers on actions they have taken and have the power to remove ministers and the government from power.

Question 2

Representation

Answer 2

MPs must protect the needs and interests of people in their constituency in Parliament.

MPs speak on behalf of their constituents in Parliamentary debates and make voting decisions on laws which appeal to their constituents.

Question 3

Law making

Answer 3

House of Commons makes legislation (laws) that are binding to all UK citizens.

The Constitution states that under parliamentary sovereignty, parliament is the ‘supreme’ law-making authority in the UK

Question 4

Debate

Answer 4

Debate is a function of the House of Commons

MPs debate major issues of importance to voters and the country

Question 5

Providing ministers

Answer 5

The House of Commons provides ministers to form the government.

All ministers must be MPs, including the prime minister.
Ministers are chosen from the House of Commons by appointment by the prime minister.

Ministers make up the cabinet, and shadow ministers in the opposition make up the shadow cabinet.

Question 6

Legitimation

Answer 6

Legitimation is a function of the House of Commons where it must approve all bills which become laws and has the power to support or question the government in the actions it takes.

Question 7

Effectiveness of Functions: Representation

Answer 7

The House of Commons represents all of the UK’s geographical regions.

Each of the 650 MPs represents an average constituency size of 75,000 voters.

MPs spend time in their constituencies meeting people, visiting local businesses, and hold regular ‘surgeries’ where constituents can discuss their concerns.

MPs represent their constituents’ interests in debates and votes.

MP Ken Clarke voted to give Parliament a vote on any Brexit deal reached, as his constituents voted to remain, going against Conservative policy.

Question 8

Effectiveness of Functions: Law making

Answer 8

House of Commons passes legislation through a number of stages. Laws are debated before being passed.

The government’s planned laws for the year are outlined in the Queen’s speech. Government bills are often successfully passed by Parliament.

The Data Protection Act (2018) is an example of government legislation, which increased regulation of personal data.

Question 9

Effectiveness of Functions: Private Members Bill

Answer 9

Private members’ bills are introduced by MPs and become laws if they pass through the law-making process.

The City of London Corporation Act (2018) is a private members’ bill which allowed the City of London Corporation to have a greater management of open spaces in London.

Question 10

Effectiveness of Functions: Legitimation

Answer 10

The House of Commons approves importance decisions that impact people in the UK, and has used its legitimacy function to stop, change, and question Government action.

In 2013 the House of Commons voted against military intervention in Syria which was proposed by the Government.

Question 11

Effectiveness of Functions: PMQs

Answer 11

The House of Commons holds the government and ministers to account through Question Times where ministers have to provide answers for the actions of the government.

There are Prime Minister’s Questions every Wednesday where the PM is questioned by the Leader of the Opposition and other members of Parliament.

Question 12

Effectiveness of Functions: Select Committees

Answer 12

Departmental Select Committees scrutinise government department work and ministers.

Departmental Select Committees ask more in-depth questions than Question Times.

Nick Hurd, the Home Office Minister, was questioned by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on the support provided for people affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

The Home Affairs Select Committee investigated a disagreement in 2011 between Theresa May, the Home Secretary at the time, and Brodie Clark, a civil servant, over UK border force failings.

Question 13

Effectiveness of Functions: Individual Ministerial Responsibility

Answer 13

The convention of individual ministerial responsibility holds all ministers in government accountable for the actions of themselves and their department.

Amber Rudd resigned as Home Secretary after she misled the House of Commons over her department’s targets for removing illegal immigrants from the UK.

Question 14

Ineffectiveness of Functions: Representation

Answer 14

The House of Commons fails to represent the UK’s social makeup, despite the chamber becoming more diverse.

Age: 52% of MPs in the House of Commons as of 2017 are aged over 50, while only 2% of MPs are aged under 30.

Ethnicity: 8% of MPs elected in 2017 were from ethnic minority backgrounds, but 14% of the UK population are of an ethnic minority background.

Education: 23% of MPs went to Oxford or Cambridge.

Gender: In 2017 208 female MPs were elected, which despite being the highest number to date is only 32% of MPs.

Question 15

Ineffectiveness of Functions: Law making

Answer 15

The process of making laws can take a long time because a bill has to pass through a number of stages before it becomes a law.

The Assaults on Emergency Workers Act (2018), which increased protection for people working for emergency services, took over a year to pass through Parliament and become law.

Private members’ bills often fail to become laws. Only two private members’ bills have passed into law since the 2017 general election.

Question 16

Ineffectiveness of Functions: The Whip

Answer 16

MPs cannot always freely debate and vote on laws because the party leadership can tell them to follow the party line.

The government and party leadership use party whips, who are MPs appointed by each party, to force bills through Parliament.

A three-line whip is an instruction for MPs to vote in a certain, party-approved way.

A three-line whip was used by the Labour Party leadership to order Labour MPs to vote for triggering Article 50, to begin the process of the UK leaving the EU.

Question 17

Ineffectiveness of Functions: Legitimation

Answer 17

The House of Commons has legitimated Government action which was not in the interests of people in the UK.

The war in Iraq was legitimated by the House of Commons despite lots of public opposition. Over 750,000 people protested in London on a single day in February 2003 against the war.

Question 18

Ineffectiveness of Functions: Scrutiny

Answer 18

Some see PMQs as lacking the power and effectiveness to properly scrutinise the government.

Ministers often avoid directly answering questions.
Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) has been nicknamed ‘Punch and Judy’ politics because it becomes a political shouting match rather than a tool to hold the government to account.

Members of Parliament often ask planted questions at PMQs to make the government and party leaders appear strong to the public.

Question 19

Ineffectiveness of Functions: Select Committees

Answer 19

Select committee scrutiny can also be ineffective at holding the government to account when ministers are unhelpful in providing evidence when questioned.

In 2016 Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary at the time, was accused of “waffling” by the committee chair of the foreign affairs select committee during questioning.