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UK Politics > Chapter 6 - Parliament and the executive - final > Flashcards

Chapter 6 - Parliament and the executive - final Flashcards

1
Q

What are the parliamentary privileges MPs have?

A
  • Freedom from arrest.
  • Freedom of speech.
  • Access of the Commons to the Crown via the Speaker.
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2
Q

How many MPs are there?

A

650

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3
Q

What practice shows the importance of constituency representation?

A

The fact they refer to each other as ‘the member for…’

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4
Q

What are the 5 common criticisms of MPs?

A
  • They are nothing but ‘lobby fodder’ who simply do what whips tell them to.
  • Backbench MPs are powerless to influence legislation or the government.
  • They rarely turn up to debates showing their lack of interest.
  • They are self-seeking and corrupt, as shown by the 2009-10 expenses scandal.
  • They are often unknown to their constituents.
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5
Q

How many members are in the House of Lords as of February 2022?

A

767

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6
Q

How many Lords Spiritual are there?

A

26

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7
Q

How many hereditary peers are in the Lords?

A

92

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8
Q

What Act limited the number of hereditary peers?

A

House of Lords Act 1999

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9
Q

When a vacancy arises amongst the hereditary Lords, what happens?

A

The rest of the hereditary peers elect a replacement.

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10
Q

What are the 3 levels of participation by peers?

A
  • Non-working peers.
  • Part-time peers.
  • Working peers.
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11
Q

What are Non-working peers?

A

People granted the honour of a peerage but are not interested in political activity; they may occasionally show up or they may not take part at all.

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12
Q

What are part-time peers/politicians?

A

Peers who are not attached to a party but do take part in debates and votes that interest them.

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13
Q

What are working peers?

A

Peers who consider themselves professional politicians and work for their party in the Lords.

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14
Q

What has the been the impact of the House of Lords Act 1999 and the gradual replacement of the excluded hereditary peers by life peers?

A

While they still lack democratic legitimacy, the House of Lords is more active and effective than ever.

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15
Q

Why has the Lords grown in influence since 2010?

A

Governments have had either a small majority or no majority at all, meaning governments have had to take opposition from the Lords more seriously.

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16
Q

How can the Lords call government to account?

A

Each government department has a junior and a senior minister to represent them in the Lords. They can be questioned by the House.

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17
Q

What is the oldest committee in the Commons and when was it formed?

A

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC); 1861.

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18
Q

What does the Public Accounts Committee do?

A

Its role is to examine the public finances, conducting investigations into how the government allocates and spends money; it is probable the most influential of all committees.

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19
Q

What is significant about the chair of the Public Accounts Committee?

A

They are always a member of the opposition party with much prestige and a higher salary.

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20
Q

Who decides the membership of the Public Accounts Committee?

A

The chair and its members are elected by all MPs meaning part leaders cannot control it.

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21
Q

Even though government has a majority on the Public Accounts Committee, like it does on every committee, why does it not have an advantage?

A

The PAC members act independently and ignore party allegiance.

22
Q

Who is the chair of the Public Accounts Committee?

A

Dame Meg Hillier MP

23
Q

What report did the PAC conduct in 2015 that demonstrate its importance?

A

They investigated the effectiveness of NHS cancer care and was highly critical of variations in treatment across regions and age groups, prompting government to review its provision of cancer treatment and care.

24
Q

When were Departmental Select Committees (DSC) created?

A

1979

25
Q

How many DSC are there?

A

20

26
Q

What do DSC allow MPs to do?

A

Call government to account by investigating the work of each government department.

27
Q

Who elects the members of each DSC?

A

MPs elect them, not party leaders.

28
Q

Who elects the chair of each DSC?

A

The committees elect their own chair.

29
Q

What is the number of members for each DSC?

A

Between 11 and 14.

30
Q

What is the make-up of DSCs?

A

Even though members are elected by the whole House, the government always has a majority, giving them an advantage when the committees elect their chair.

31
Q

How do DSCs act?

A

Even though the government always has a majority of members, Departmental Select Committees act largely independently of party allegiance and tend to give unanimous reports.

32
Q

How do DSCs conduct their investigations?

A

Call witnesses who may be ministers, civil servants, people from pressure groups or experts.

33
Q

What investigation did the Committee for Work and Pensions conduct in 2016?

A

They investigated the collapse of British Home Stores and the loss of employees’ pensions.

34
Q

What was the result of the investigation made by the Work and Pensions Departmental Select Committee in 2016?

A

BHS was reported to the Pensions Regulator.

35
Q

When was the Liaison Committee created?

A

2002

36
Q

Who sits on the Liaison Committee?

A

All the chairs of the departmental select committees.

37
Q

What are the 2 functions of the Liaison Committee?

A
  • Overseeing the work of the House of Commons select committees.
  • Call the prime minister to account.
38
Q

What must the prime minister do twice a year?

A

Appear before the Liaison Committee.

39
Q

When was the Backbench Business Committee set up?

A

2010, as part of the Wright Reforms.

40
Q

What is the function of the Backbench Business Committee?

A

Decide what should be debated on the one day a week allocated to backbench business.

41
Q

How often do backbenchers get to decide what is debated in the House of Commons?

A

They get one day a week, 35 says per session.

42
Q

Where do the topics of backbench debate days come from?

A
  • E-petitions that achieve 100,000 signatures.
  • At the request of a select committee.
  • From a request by an MP or a group of them.
  • Requests from public campaigns.
43
Q

What is the most celebrated example of the Backbench Business Committee’s work?

A

In 2011 a debate on the publication of all documents relating to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster occurred after an e-petition received over 100,000 signatures. The government was forced to release the documents as a result.

44
Q

What is the weakness every House of Commons committee suffers from?

A

They do not have the power to enforce decisions and recommendations. They can only bring publicity to issues, hold government to account, and recommend actions.

45
Q

What is the strength of select committees?

A

The MPs that sit on them tend to be independent minded.

46
Q

What do select committees do better than the Commons?

A

The questioning of ministers on the floor of the Commons tends to be weak, but the select committees of the House of Commons play a big role in demanding accountability.

47
Q

What happens to all hearings of the Commons’ select committees?

A

They are televised to ensure media attention and awareness.

48
Q

What does the democratic working of government depend on?

A

A strong, effective opposition in Parliament.

49
Q

How many ‘opposition days’ are there every session?

A

20

50
Q

What are the 4 main roles of the official opposition in Parliament?

A
  • Force government to explain and justify its polices.
  • Highlight the government’s failings.
  • Present alternatives to the government’s proposals.
  • Make its ready to be an alternative government.
51
Q

What are the 3 main ways in which government ministers are called to account?

A
  • ‘questions to ministers days’ when every minister has to take their turn to appear before their respective House in Parliament.
  • In departmental select committees or the PAC. The questioning here is intense and committees have largely taken over the job of holding government to account.
  • PMQT every Wednesday afternoon.
52
Q

What advantage do ministers have over MPs and peers when it comes to questioning on the floors of the Commons or Lords?

A

They have advance notice of the questions they will be asked.

UK Politics (39 decks)

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