Parliamentary Law Making

Question 1

Parliamentary supremacy

Answer 1

They are the most powerful law makers

They have right to:
Make, change or abolish any law
Overrule any other law
Cannot be bound by themselves

Why are they supreme:
They are democratic and therefore representative

Question 2

Who makes up Parliament

Answer 2

Queen, House of Commons, House of Lords

Question 3

Who else can make laws?

Answer 3

EU(regulations and directives), Judges(precedents) & council/public bodies(delegated legislation)

Question 4

What makes up HOC

Answer 4

650 elected MPs

Represent a political party or individual candidate

Question 5

What makes up HOL

Answer 5

92 hereditary peers
640 life peers
26 senior bishops
Judges no longer sit here(moved to Supreme Court)

Question 6

Influences on parliament: political

Answer 6

• manifesto of a party

- when voted into gov they then take action and turn these into law

Question 7

Influences of parliament: public opinion/media

Answer 7

-strong public opinions
Eg. Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
Media gets attention of public & parliament

Question 8

Influence on parliament: pressure groups

Answer 8

-group with a common issue that want to bring it to attention
Sectional:
Represent a section of society
Cause:
Focus on specific causes, not groups of people

Question 9

Influence on Parliament: lobbyists

Answer 9

Individuals talking to an MP to try and get them to support your cause
MPs could ask question in HOC

Question 10

Influence on Parliament: law commission

Answer 10

Group of legal experts who research into issues within the law and propose reforms to Parliament

Question 11

Political influences a&d

Answer 11

• Predictable which laws will be made
• government majority makes it easy to pass Bills
• new gov may undo this work
• small majoritys/coalitions won’t be able to pass laws freely

Question 12

Public opinion/media a&d

Answer 12

-easy to know what matters to society

• parliament may be rushed into bad law
• media may manipulate the news and public opinion

Question 13

Pressure groups a&d

Answer 13

-can be very large and raise a lot of awareness

• groups may just be a loud minority
• might be two opposing groups

Question 14

Lobbyists a&d

Answer 14

• anyone can be lobbyist

- can lead to bribery

Question 15

Types of Bills

Answer 15

1.Private Members Bill
Introduced by individual MPs who are not in Gov
Eg. Abortion Act 1967

2.Public Bills
Introduced by mostly Gov
Laws on important public matter that affect whole country
Eg.legal aid sentencing and punishment of offenders act 2012

3.Private Bills
Laws that apply only to a private individual or legal entity
Eg. Favershan Oyster Fishery Company Bill 2016

Question 16

Green paper

Answer 16

Consultation phase

Sets out general aims of a bill and invites responses

Question 17

White paper

Answer 17

The firm proposal for a law

Question 18

House of Commons legislative process

Answer 18

First reading (title of Bill read)

Second reading (minister explains purpose, debate, vote held)

Committee stage (16-50 MPs examine each cause of Bill and think of any potential problems)

Report Stage (committee reports back to House with any suggest amendment which will be debated and accepted or rejected)

Third reading (after each amendment
 accepted or rejected they do a final vote on the Bill)

Question 19

House of Lords legislative process

Answer 19

Same as HoC only difference is the whole house would be in committee stage rather than 16-50 MPs. If any amendments made it goes back to HoC to go through process again

Question 20

Monarch in legislative process

Answer 20

Only sees title of Bill and gives royal assent for the Bill to be turned into law

Question 21

Advantages of PLM: consultation and resources

Answer 21

P will consult with many interested parties and experts and can arrange for national polls
Example: P was considering extending drinking hours for pubs. Consulted with police, landlords, hospitals in order to obtain different views and be aware of the consequences
Good because p has much more knowledge upon which to make good law which few other people could be able to gather

Question 22

Advantages of PLM: can change whole areas of law at once

Answer 22

Due to supremacy, p had the powe to make, amend and repeal any laws- thus is in contrast with precedents where judges can only make them in relation to legal principle involved in a case
Example: before 2006 there were many different Acts dealing with fraud, making law very complex and confusing. P passed Fraud Act which updated and simplified the law
Means law can update and solve problems relatively quickly

Question 23

Advantage of PLM: democratic process

Answer 23

Because 650 MPs in HOC are elected. If the voting public are unhappy with laws made by p they won’t vote them back in
Example: poll tax is law brought by conservations government in 1990 but was so unpopular it led to the resignation of PM Margaret Thatcher
If laws reflect what the public want, they are more likely to be obeyed and be more effective

Question 24

Advantages of PLM: Bills must be checked by 3

Answer 24

Process behind making Acts involves the HOC as well as HOL and monarch
Example: HOL tried to oppose hunting Bill, HOC were still able to push Act through
Public opinion will be reflected but law will be thoroughly checked for problems

Question 25

Disadvantages of PLM: Acts can be complex

Answer 25

P needs to deal with national issues which often have far reaching effects. Need to cover lots of potential situations
Example: Health and Safety at Work Acts aim to protect workers in modern offices as well as old factory buildings even though the issues are very different
Acts are long and wordy to achieve this. This can make law hard to apply and reduced usefulness

Question 26

Disadvantage of PLM: lengthy process

Answer 26

Various stages from green paper to royal assent with several debates.
Example: many Bills that never become Acts because p ran out of time- this is particularly common with private members bills where sometimes they do not have gov support
Slow process means law will not update quickly

Question 27

Disadvantage of PLM: limited time for law making

Answer 27

P has several functions eg. Dealing with terrorist activities and Brexit. Less urgent matters can be ignored for a very long time
Example: 1993, law commission recommended important changes to 1861 OAPA. However Parliament have still not made changed even though it’s widely acknowledged it needs reforming
Problems with law may not be solved with Parliament at all and may require judges to step in

Question 28

Disadvantage of PLM: problems with the separation of powers

Answer 28

Gov in HOC meaning they are both executive and legislative
Example: 2016 to 2017, 25 of the 28 public Bills put forward by Gov were given royal assent whereas only 8 of 163 private members were given royal assent
Gov has huge impact on laws even though gov is not supposed to be legislative

Question 29

Describe PLM process (8)

Answer 29

Green paper (consultation phase)
- sets out general aims and invited responses
White paper (firm proposal for a law)
- then most Bills start HoC/HoL, financial must start HoC
‘First Reading’
- formality, title of Bill read to house
‘Second Reading’
- minister explains purpose of Bill (debate held and vote taken)
‘Committee stage’
- HoC 16-50 MPs examine each clause and consider issues that could be caused (HoL whole house)
‘Report stage’
- committee reports back with suggested amendments (these are debated and rejected or accepted)
- if final vote passes then Bill sent to other house for same process
- if other house makes amendments it can be passed back (can get stuck in ping-pong)
Queen must give royal assent to turn Bill into Act. Does not have to physically sign and only sees short title

Question 30

PLM process summary

Answer 30

Green paper & white paper 
First reading & second reading 
Committee stage & report stage 
Final vote & potential ping-pong 
Royal Assent

Question 31

Influenced on PLM (8)

Answer 31

Political parties (manifestos)
- parties publish setting out political ideas and aims which can influence
Public opinion
- strong public feeling
Eg. Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 response to children injured by dogs
- media can get attention of public
Pressure groups
- sectional represents particular group
Eg. Law society represent lawyers’ interests
- cause focus on specific causes
Eg. League of Cruel Sports led to Hunting Act 2004 banning fox hunting
Lobbyists
- try to get individual MPs to support cause by asking Q in HoC to get publicity
- pressure groups often do this
LC
- independent body of legal experts
- find problems in law, research and propose reforms
Eg. Consumer Rights Act 2015 implemented many changes suggested