2.4 the ways in which parliament interacts with the executive

Question 1

What is parliamentary privilege?

Answer 1

the right of MPs or Lords to make certain statements within parliament without being subject to outside influence, including law

Question 2

How has the creation of the Backbench Business Committee increased backbenchers role in parliament?

Answer 2

allowed to choose the topic debate on 35 days in each parliamentary session

Question 3

What percentage of divisions did coalition MPs rebel in between 2010-15?

Answer 3

35%

Question 4

What percentage of divisions did MPs rebel in between 2005-10?

Answer 4

28%

Question 5

What is an urgent question?

Answer 5

a device subject to the approval of the speaker of the house and allows an MP to raise an important matter requiring an immediate answer from a government minister

Question 6

How many urgent questions did Speaker John Bercow allow between 2009-13?

Answer 6

3547

Question 7

How many urgent questions did Speaker Michael Martin allow between 2000-09?

Answer 7

1234

Question 8

What is an adjournment debate?

Answer 8

• after official business of the House is over, there is an opportunity to raise an issue and a minister will reply

Question 9

What is the 10-minute rule?

Answer 9

• allows MPs to speak for 10 minutes on their chosen subject before the beginning of official business on certain days

Question 10

Why don’t public bill committees necessarily work?

Answer 10

the government has a majority on these committees

Question 11

Who are backbench members of the HoL most likely to be?

Answer 11

established figures in their own fields

Question 12

What is the overall role of select committees?

Answer 12

scrutinise the policy, administration and spending of each government department

Question 13

What does the public accounts committee do?

Answer 13

examines government expenditure, seeking to ensure that value for money is being obtained

Question 14

What does the liaison committee do?

Answer 14

• consists of the chairs of all the select committees
• questions the prime minister twice a year across the whole field of government policy

Question 15

What does the committee on standards do?

Answer 15

oversees the work of parliamentary commissioner on standards, including their financial affairs

Question 16

What is the parliamentary commissioner on standards?

Answer 16

an official who is in charge of regulating MPs conduct

Question 17

What is the minimum number of backbench MPs a departmental select committee has to have?

Answer 17

11

Question 18

How is composition of select committees decided?

Answer 18

reflects the balance of a party strength in the House of Commons

Question 19

How are chairs of select committees chosen?

Answer 19

elected by their fellow MPs

Question 20

How are members of select committees chosen?

Answer 20

by secret ballot within party groups

Question 21

What powers do the members of select committees have?

Answer 21

power to gather written and oral evidence and to summon witnesses, including ministers, civil servants, experts and members of the public with a relevant interest

Question 22

How long do the government have to respond to a report produced by select committees?

Answer 22

two months

Question 23

Why is select committees work respected?

Answer 23

its evidence-based

Question 24

How are select committees important?

Answer 24

• scope of the work has widened to include the scrutiny of legislation
• long-serving members can accumulate more knowledge of a particular area than a minister, who only stays in a department for one or two years
• can have a direct influence on government policy

Question 25

How are select committees not that important?

Answer 25

• majority of select-committee members will be drawn from the governing party
• committees can only cover a limited range of topics in depth
• still a high turnover rate for membership of committees
• committees power to summon witnesses is considerable but not limited (May blocked Home Affairs Select Committee from interviewing the head of MI5, 2013)

Question 26

What percentage of select-committee recommendations do the government except?

Answer 26

40%

Question 27

What do House of Lords select committees do?

Answer 27

scrutinise legislation and investigate particular issues

Question 28

What does the Constitution Committee do?

Answer 28

examines public bills for their constitutional implications and investigates broad constitutional issues

Question 29

How many days are the opposition parties allocated a year to propose subjects for debate?

Answer 29

20 days

Question 30

How many days is the leader of the official opposition allocated a year to propose subjects for debate?

Answer 30

17 days

Question 31

How many days is the second official opposition allocated a year to propose subjects for debate?

Answer 31

3 days

Question 32

What did the SNP use its allocated days to debate in November 2015?

Answer 32

• Trident nuclear defence system, which they strongly opposed
• closure of HMRC offices

Question 33

What does the ‘short money’ help with?

Answer 33

provides help with the running costs of the leader of the oppositions office

Question 34

What is the purpose of short money?

Answer 34

compensate for the fact that, unlike the government, opposition parties do not have access to support from the civil service

Question 35

What is short money mean to be spent on?

Answer 35

• policy research
• salaries of staff who work for the opposition in parliament

Question 36

When are PMQs held?

Answer 36

at 12pm for half an hour each Wednesday

Question 37

What did Tony Blair describe PMQs as?

Answer 37

the most nerve-racking, discombobulating, nail-biting, bowel-moving, terror-inspiring, courage-draining experience

Question 38

What did Cameron attack Corbyn about once in PMQs?

Answer 38

his choice of suit

Question 39

How does PMQs involve stage management?

Answer 39

MPs on the government side deliberately asking ‘planted’ questions to present the prime minister in a good light

Question 40

What dies the rota on which ministers answer questions about their own departments entail?

Answer 40

• more detailed questioning
• ministers are given notice of oral questions so that they can prepare