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Parliament (Features of the Westminster Model (Fusion of Powers Government…
Parliament
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Committees
There are 19 committees, and each one is concerned with a specific area eg. education, justice, transport. They are made up of between 11 and 14 elected members.
Examples
Public Accounts Committee is the oldest committee in Parliament. They investigate the financial arrangements of the government.
Standards and Privileges Committee - Concerned with standards of Public life. Deals with any disciplinary matters against MPs.
Roles
- Represent party balance of Parliament
- Ensure laws are effective as possible
- Scrutinise Government
- Examine Issues in depth
Legislative Process
First Reading = First compulsory stage. At this point the bill is made available to MPs, but not yet debated or voted on.
Committee Stage here, it is scrutinised by the public bill committee whose membership reflects the House of Commons. Can be amended.
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The Bill then goes through a second reading where it is debated and a vote may be taken if it is contested.
Report Stage Here the whole house considered amendments made by the committee and can either reject or accept them,
The whole process is repeated in the second house. (The process begins in whichever house proposed the bill)
Final stage: Royal Assent The monarch signs the bill, making it law. This stage is simply a formality.
House of Commons
Parliamentary Debates Often appear as prepared speeches and the topics are not thoroughly 'debated'. They do allow MPs to share information with Ministers.
Prime Ministers Questions Used as a way to scrutinise policy and hold the government to account. However it is sometimes overshadowed by the leader of the opposition and used simply as a media stunt.
Minority groups are not proportionally represented for example
- Women make up half the population, but only 22% of parliament
- Black and ethnic minorities only make up 4% of the House of Common
- MPs are still overwhelmingly white, male, middle class and university educated
Compostion 650 MPs, who are each responsible for a constituency,and representative of a party.
Official Opposition must scrutinise and question the work of government and suggest alternative policies, they have the right to ask questions at PMQs, and without them there would be no representative democracy
Functions of Parliament
Raises national issues and concerns to the attention of government. They therefore are responsible for representing constituents
Have an educational role, it is there job to inform the public of their actions and decisions
Scrutinises the process of government, and can therefore hold the government to account and ensure everything they do is fair and legitimate
Legitimises and sustains the government of the day and passes its chosen legislation (assuming government receives a majority)
Budget is presented to Parliament to allow scrutiny, accountability, representation and legislation
The Westminster Model
Ineffective
- When scrutinising a bill, MPs lack subjectspecific knowledge
- The executive makes deals with backbenchers in order to avoid defeat which is unjust and censors opinion
- Rare for backbenchers to really challenge issues
Effective
- Committees operate largely free from party control and can therefore sucessfully hold the government to account.
- The Lords have voted to block certain bills. They do not necessarily identify with a party and so offer a neutral view
- Party representation in HOL has been amended.
House of Lords
Compostion
Life Peers Appointed by the Prime Minister and permitted to sit in the Lords for their lifetimes.
Hereditary Peers Peers who inherited their titles. There were once over 700, but now only 92 remain
Lords Spiritual Bishops and archbishops of the Church.
Powers
Delay Bills Can be delayed for up to one year. They cannot delay money bills or defeat measures laid out in the government manifesto
Veto Powers eg. the sacking of Senior Judges, the introduction of secondary legislation and the extension of Parliament cannot be vetoed.
Began as an advisory council to the King. In 1958, women were permitted to access the House, and in 1999 the Lords Act stopped Lords passing their Lordship onto their family members. They are unelected