Parliament 6.7-6.13- Functions Of The House Of Commons Flashcards
3 mainFunctions of HOC
Scrutiny
Passing and examining legislation- often referred to legislative function
Representation
FUNCTION OF HOC
Scrutiny
Scrutiny.
This involves examining the work of government and holding it to account for its actions. Scrutiny can entail criticising government actions, forcing ministers to explain policy and perhaps even dismissing a government through a vote of no confidence.
FUNCTIONS OF HOC
Legislative function
Legislative function.
Any proposed legislation is examined by MPs. They may make amendments to improve the legislation and to protect the interests of minorities. This function overlaps with the scrutiny function, since Parliament should ensure that only worthwhile laws are passed, without preventing government from functioning. It is a delicate balance to perform.
FUNCTIONS OF HOC
Representation
Representation. MPs are expected to ensure that the interests of their constituencies are protected - both the interests of the constituency as a whole and those of individual constituents. We can also consider representation in terms of resemblance.
Resemblance
The idea that representative institutions should be staffed by people who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and professions and who share similar characteristics with the For the commurities they serve.
For example, there should be equal numbers of women and men.
Addition to the 3 main functions
HOC also
provides the role of legitimation (in a sense, the Commons is granting consent on behalf of the people when it votes in favour of bills). The Commons also provides a deliberative function (it is the forum for national debate).
3 main functions of HOL
Scrutiny
Legislative function
Representation
FUNCTION OF HOL
Scrutiny
+ Scrutiny. The Lords cannot veto a piece of legislation but it can force the government to re-present it the following year. This power of delay effectively forces government to think again for a year and possibly add amendments to make the legislation acceptable.
FUNCTIONS OF HOL
Legislative function
+ Legislative function. The Lords plays a crucial role in revising bills that are sent from the House of Commons. The fact that the chamber contains so many experts makes this process especially meaningful.
FUNCTION OF HOL
Representation
+ Representation. While the House of Lords is unelected, it has gained a reputation for standing up for the rights of minorities and vulnerable groups.
Powers of HOC
The House of Commons has the exclusive power to:
+ approve or reject proposed legislation
+ dismiss a government through a vote of no confidence
+ order ministers to answer questions on the floor of the house, in a select
committee or in writing + amend legislation
+ order debates on important national issues or in a crisis or emergency
Backbench MPs may introduce private members’ bills for consideration.
Powers of HOL
The House of Lords has the power to:
+ delay the passage of legislation for up to a year
+ amend legislation, although such amendments may be overturned in the House of Commons
+ order a government minister (if the minister is a member of the House of Lords rather than the House of Commons) to answer questions on government policies and decisions
+ debate issues of great national concern
Since the House of Lords is unelected- what has been done ?
three main limits have been placed on its power.
What are three main limits have placed on HOL power?
+ The Parliament Act 1911 banned the Lords from having legislative control over financial matters. This ban confirmed the elected Commons’
‘financial privilege’.
+ The Parliament Act 1949 stipulated that the Lords can only delay the
passage of legislation for one year.
+ The Salisbury Convention, dating back to the 1940s, means that the Lords cannot obstruct any proposed legislation that was contained in the governing party’s last election manifesto.
Salisbury convention
A convention that ensures major government bills that are mentioned in an election manifesto will not be voted down by the House of Lords.
It acknowledges that the unelected House of Lords lacks the legitimacy to block bills that a winning party pledged to introduce at the last general election.
How does parliament interact with government ?
Parliament interacts with the government in a number of ways
through the actions of backbenchers, tabling of questions etc, including through the official opposition and the work it does to hold the government to account.
Opposition
A general torm referring to all parties that are not part of the government. Her Majesty’s official opposition refers to the second largest party in the House of Commons.
The general term opposition refers to the following rules:
+ All MPs and peers who are not members of the governing party may be described as ‘opposition MPs and peers’.
+ The ‘official opposition” is the second largest party in the House of
Commons.
+ The leader of that party is described as ‘leader of the opposition’.
+ The leader of the opposition has special privileges, notably to speak in debates and to take the main role at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The role of the opposition includes:
+ forcing the government to explain and justify its policies and decisions
+ highlighting the shortcomings of the way the government is running the
country
+ presenting alternative proposals to those of the government if appropriate
+ making itself ready to be an alternative government if the current government is defeated at the next general election
+ setting the parliamentary agenda on supply days, of which there are normally around 20 per year, whereby the opposition may debate any issu it wants and even hold votes
Supply days
Also known as opposition days, these are parliamentary days that are under the control of opposition parties rather than the government
All government ministers interact with parliament by?
Appearing before the Commons on a regular basis to answer questions
Ministers who are peers also have to appear regularly in the Lords
Which types of questions do government ministers have to answer ?
Ministerial questions
Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs)
Urgent questions (UQs)
Written questions
Ministerial questions
Secretaries of state and ministers from government departments are required to answer questions from opposition MPs in the shadow cabinet and from backbenchers on issues relating to their department.
Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs)
PMQs is held every week, during which the prime minister is questioned by the leader of the opposition and backbench MPS.
Urgent questions (UQs)
These are questions that are asked by an MP (usually from the opposing party) and deemed by the Speaker to be of pressing public interest, and which need to be discussed immediately.
Written questions
MPs and peers can ask government ministers written questions. These are often used to gather a more detailed response or clarify statistical information.
What are PMQ sessions?
Session that gives backbench MPs and leaders of opposition parties the chance to ask the prime minister
questions. it takes place every wednesday.
