P2 - Parliamentary Scrutiny Flashcards
What does Parliament require ministers and the PM to do
answer questions by backbenchers in the Commons
why is the PM forced to be well informed about policy and the wider news
PMQs
what does PMQs provide
it gives the leader of the opposition the chance to ask several questions
How has PMQs been used well to scrutinise
in 2017, Jeremy Corbyn used PMQs to effectively overturn the premium-rate number used to call Universal Credit
What can the speaker do to allow the Commons to demand the attendance of relevant ministers
raise urgent questions
what is the issue with PMQs
it is political theatre rather than proper scrutiny
how does the PM benefit from PMQs
many questions come from ‘friendly’ government backbenchers
What is PMQs an example of
punch and Judy politics, with MPs, jeering and shouting in a highly childish manner
What happens to a bill after its second reading
It reaches the committee stage
what is formed to scrutinise a bill and consider any amendments
public bills committees
when were public bills committees strengthened
2007
what is the issue with public bill committees
they are far less independent than select committees as their membership is still dominated by party whips
why are some amendments not accepted
they may be contrary to a majority government’s wishes
what can the commons do in extreme circumstances
a vote of no confidence
What do individual MPs do
draw attention to grievances of constituents
what do select committees reflect and what does it mean
they reflect the composition of the Commons, so a government will also have a majority on the committee
What do select committees have the power to send for
persons, papers and records
why do the Commons no longer control the composition of the committees
the Wright Report
What is good about the select committee questioning
they have an interrogative style of questioning and witnesses have no notice of questioning
What is good about committee members
they tend to be independently minded, so feel freer to be critical
How do select committees attract career and independently minded politicians
chairs of committees get paid well
what do select committees reports get
a lot of publicity, especially when they are critical
What is an example of select committee success
Margaret Hodge and Public Accounts Committee who, in 2013 held Amazon, Starbucks and Google to account for the limited tax they pay in the UK.
what is the issue with select committee reviewal
it happens after problems have occurred and criticise the government for this
What is a limitation of select committees
the government is not obliged to act upon the recommendations of select committees
what is the imbalance between MPs and ministers
MPs have very little research support whilst ministers have much more
what factors affect whether the opposition is able to scrutinise the executive
size and unity of the governing party and the length of time the government has been in office
What can the opposition influence
the popularity and power of a government
what are the two most important oppositions
the Blair Opposition (1994-97) was very effective in highlighting the weaknesses in the Major government
the Cameron Opposition (2005-10) managed to underline divisions in there final years of the Labour government
