paper 2 section A: parliamentary law-making

Question 1

parliamentary law

Answer 1

the commons introduces a proposal to amend/create a law, debated and scrutinised then passed to the lords, bill becomes law through by the crown giving royal assent (usually)

Question 2

example of an act passed (parliamentary law)

Answer 2

the employment act 2023 which concerns the fair distribution of tips to employees

Question 3

government

Answer 3

made up of the PM and cabinet ministers

Question 4

parliament

Answer 4

highest legislative, made up of the Commons, Lords and the Crown

Question 5

house of commons

Answer 5

made up of 647 MPs, their key role is to debate and propose new laws and sit on scrutiny committees to finalise the details of legislation

Question 6

electoral mandate

Answer 6

MPs are elected every 5 years - HC has this power

Question 7

parliament acts of 1911 and 1949

Answer 7

allows the commons to pass bills, which the lords have rejected more than once, straight to assent

Question 8

example of using the parliament acts

Answer 8

2004 - fox hunting with dogs ban

Question 9

house of lords

Answer 9

778 members, main role in law-making is to form a debating chamber to provide checks and balances on bills the commons proposes, scrutiny committees

Question 10

how are the lords appointed

Answer 10

by the HL appointment commission, recommended by the PM or they are lords spiritual(CofE)/hereditary peer

Question 11

percentage of female MPs

Answer 11

34%

Question 12

where is the UK ranked for proportion of female rep.

Answer 12

48th in the world

Question 13

percentage of MPs that went to private school

Answer 13

29% (4x higher than the general population)

Question 14

green paper

Answer 14

a consultation document which outlines gov. proposals or options to amend the law and invites specialist parties, stakeholders and other impacted by the proposals

Question 15

green paper example

Answer 15

SEN green paper in 2022 invite responses to proposals to special needs education and support

Question 16

white paper

Answer 16

firm proposal to amend the law often following the consultation process as a result of the green paper, may summarise why other options were rejected, includes a draft bill

Question 17

white paper example

Answer 17

SEN white paper 2023 agreed an improvement plan and national standards

Question 18

public bill

Answer 18

introduced to parliament by government ministers, likely to succeed as the gov. controls the legislative timetable, built in majority if MPs vote in favour of government in HC

Question 19

example of public bill

Answer 19

animal welfare (responsibility for dog attacks) bill 2023 at 2nd reading (currently)

Question 20

private members’ bill

Answer 20

introduced to parliament by MPs or Lord, annual ballot to introduce proposal 1 fri per month (7-20 per year), need cross-party support to pass through the commons

Question 21

example of private members’ bill

Answer 21

BSL Act 2022 resulted from PM Bill to recognise British sign language as a language

Question 22

private bill

Answer 22

introduced to parliament by individual/group/organisation to amend the law for a specific issue, petitioning period for proposals to be scrutinised ahead of being presented, only gives power to the proposer of the bill, likely to succeed if drafted correctly

Question 23

example of private bill

Answer 23

cross rail Act 2008 was the result of a bill proposing a new railway line

Question 24

1st reading

Answer 24

formally presented, only title is read, names of sponsors, no debate, date set

Question 25

2nd reading

Answer 25

general aims of bill are debated, a vote is taken (physically counted)

Question 26

committee stage

Answer 26

clause by clause debate, scrutinising language of bill, in proportion to the parties in commons

Question 27

report stage

Answer 27

reported to the house, if it has been amended in committee stage the members have the chance of disagreeing

Question 28

3rd reading

Answer 28

considers the amended bill, no changes may be undertaken (verbal amendments), a final vote is taken,

Question 29

other house

Answer 29

follows the same procedure

Question 30

royal assent

Answer 30

traditional formality that cannot be refused, not done in person, last refused in 1708 by Queen Anne

Question 31

parliamentary ping-pong

Answer 31

bill bounces back and forth between the two chambers until an agreement is reached

Question 32

current example of ‘ping-pong’

Answer 32

gov. announcing plans to scrap EU-era water pollution restrictions for housing developments through an amendment which the Lords are pushpin back to the Commons