Parliament 6.1- 6.4 The Structure Of The HOL, HOC, Legislative process In HOC, Nature Of Parlimanetary Bills

Question 1

House of Commons

Answer 1

-Known as ‘lower house’ and is the elected half of Parliament

The elected and most powerful chamber of Parliament. Its membership consists of
650 MPS.

Question 2

How many members of Parliament in HOC

Answer 2

650

Question 3

Structure of House Of Commons

Answer 3

+ 650 Members of Parliament.
+ Frontbench MPs
+ Backbench MPs
+ Select committees
+ Legislative committees (also called public bill committees)
+ Party whips
+ The Speaker

Question 4

Frontbench MPs

Answer 4

government ministers, senior and junior, plus leading
spokespersons from opposition parties (about 150).

Question 5

Backbench MPs

Answer 5

all those MPs who are not frontbenchers (about 500).

Question 6

Select committees

Answer 6

Permanent committees of backbench MPs, elected by all the MPs. Their main role is to scrutinise the work of government departments.

Question 7

Legislative committees

Answer 7

(also called public bill committees) - temporary committees that scrutinise proposed legislation and propose amendments to improve the legislation. They mostly have 20-40 members who are chosen by party whips.

Question 8

Party whips

Answer 8

senior MPs who seek to persuade backbenchers in their own party to vote the way the party leadership wants them to, ensuring party unity.

Question 9

The Speaker

Answer 9

presides over disputes in the House of Commons and take decisions on parliamentary procedure.

Question 10

House of Lords

Answer 10

Also known as the ‘upper house’ and is unelected half of Parliament contains approx 800 peers

The unelected chamber of Parliament. Its main role is to examine and revise legislation from the House of Commons.

Question 11

Which types of peers are there in the House of Lords?

Answer 11

Hereditary peers
Life peers
Cross bench MPs
Archbishop and bishop of the Church of England
The Lord Speaker

Question 12

When referring to hereditary peers in the HOL refer to

Answer 12

the ‘democratic deficit’

Question 13

Hereditary peers

Answer 13

have inherited the title from their father and in most cases the title passes on to their sons (just a handful of hereditary peerages are passed through the female line). Out of the several thousand hereditary peers who live in the UK, only 92 are allowed to sit in the House of Lords.

Question 14

Life peers

Answer 14

Life peers are appointed for life by party leaders and an Appointments Commission. They do not pass on their title to their children. These peers are a mixture of former politicians and experts in various fields. Most peers have allegiance to a political party.

Question 15

Crossbench MPs

Answer 15

While most peers (both life and hereditary) have a party allegiance, some have no party affiliation and are fully independent. These peers are called crossbench MPs.

Question 16

Archbishop and Bishop of the Church of England

Answer 16

In addition to life and hereditary peers, archbishops and bishops of the Church of England are also members of the House of Lords. There are 26 of these. No other religions have automatic representation.

Question 17

The Lord Speaker

Answer 17

The Lord Speaker presides over debates in the House and maintains
discipline.

Question 18

What happened when a hereditary peer dies or retires from the House of Lords?

Answer 18

When one hereditary peer dies or retires from the House of Lords, there is a by-election among the chamber’s remaining hereditary peers from the deceased’s political party, who choose from the wider pool of hereditary peers (those who used to sit in the Lords until they were removed) to fill the vacancy.
Critics point to the hypocrisy of maintaining the most undemocratic element of the Lords — the hereditary principle — with an election.

Question 19

The legislative process: House Of Commons

What are the key stages in processing a legislative bill ?

Answer 19

First reading
Second reading
Commmitte stage
Report stage third reading
Passage to ‘the other place’ (HOL)
Royal assent

Question 20

What happens at the first reading ?

Answer 20

MPs are informed about the bill or proposed legislation.

Question 21

What happens at the Second reading ?

Answer 21

The main debate on the bill is held, which is followed by a vote.

Question 22

Committee stage

Answer 22

If the Commons votes in favour of the bill at the second reading, a public bill committee is formed to consider it line by line. This committee may propose amendments.

Question 23

What happens at the report stage ?

Answer 23

The bill is debated again, with all the passed amendments included.

Question 24

What happens at the third reading ?

Answer 24

There is a final debate and a last opportunity to block the legislation

Question 25

What happens at Passage to ‘the other place’ (House of
Lords) ?

Answer 25

Most bills are first presented in the House of Commons, so they next pass to the House of Lords (though it can be the other way round). The procedures for passing the bill are roughly the same in the House of Lords.

Question 26

What happens at the Royal assent ?

Answer 26

The monarch signs the bill into the law, which signifies the formal passage of the bill into the law. It is now an Act of Parliament.

Question 27

The nature of parliamentary bills
What are the types of legislation ?

Answer 27

Public bills
Primary legislation
Secondary legislation (also called delegated legislation)
Private members bills
Private bills

Question 28

Public bills

Answer 28

These are bills presented by the government. They are expected to pass successfully into law.

Question 29

Primary legislation

Answer 29

These are major pieces of legislation either changing the law or granting powers to subsidiary bodies and individuals to make secondary legislation.

Question 30

Secondary legislation (also called delegated legislation)

Answer 30

These are usually described as ministerial orders. Under powers granted in primary legislation, ministers or other bodies may make minor regulations on their own. Most such orders are not debated in Parliament, but Parliament has the option of vetoing such legislation.

Question 31

Private members’ bills

Answer 31

Backbench MPs may enter a ballot allowing five of them each year to present their own proposed piece of legislation. These rarely pass into law unless they receive the support of government. There is usually not enough parliamentary time to consider them.

Question 32

Private bills

Answer 32

Such bills are presented by individuals or organisations outside government and Parliament.
They apply to Parliament for permission to take certain actions (often building or changing land use) which are currently forbidden.