Scrutiny Flashcards
(10 cards)
Public Bill committee EFFECTIVE
*examine a bill line by line, in detail and suggest any amendments to improve the bill
*political scientist Louise Thompson found that 3/5 MP’s have relevant expertise and argue that some committee sessions reach impressive levels of scrutiny.
*Public Bills alert ministers about where changes are needed
*have the power to call for persons and papers, created a lot more accountability and scrutiny, more independent minded MP’s the chance to add weight to arguments (it is harder to argue against experts)
*More independent minded MP’s can exist when a government majority is low and it is harder for whips to control eg Theresa May’s Brexit Bill. *Opposition members also allow scope for debate and can table useful amendments successfully.
Public Bill Committees INEFFECTIVE
*scrutiny via partisan whipped bill committees can be seen as ineffective and of little value.
*Whips can completely dominate proceedings. 2+ out of 5 members are just ‘cannon fodder’ attendees, who are primed to vote the party line
*Only half of 1 percent of accepted amendments in and after committee stage are from the opposition.
*Thompson also finds that 84 percent of changes made are still government ones.
Select Committees EFFECTIVE
*set up in 1979 with aim of increasing the accountability of the government and its departments and public bodies (eg Ministry of Justice is scrutinised by the Justice Select Committee.)
*The select committee system provides a committee scrutinising each departments executive actions in detail.
*Select committee members build up expertise in that area
* Attendance at committee sessions has increased and there is more engagement by members.
*Chairs now paid worthwhile salary and attract media attention so this role has grown in importance
*attracts senior ex ministers (such as Jeremy hunt who was minister for health and then became chair of the health select committee) and genuinely expert and less-partisan backbenchers.
Select committees INEFFECTIVE
*past lack of diversity in who is invited to give evidence, partly reflecting biases in who sits on committees.
*Women MP’s have been severely under-represented on the committees especially foreign affairs whose members were 93 percent male from 1979 to 2017.
*Women MP’s are most prominent on the health and education committees. This therefore could makes select committees less effective.
Prime Ministers Questions EFFECTIVE
*regarded as one of the key ways in which to hold the British Executive to account.
*Many PM’s confess after leaving office that they found it difficult, if not a terrifying ordeal.
*gives the opposition an opportunity to present their policies and raise the profile of their leader.
*usually televised and allow voters to judge party leaders. Jeremy Corbyns less confrontational approach to PMQ’s was seen as a success and a move towards more effective public scrutiny.
*It also helps generate interest in political matters.
PMQ’S INEFFECTIVE
*MP’s from the government’s party will ask the PM planted questions to make the government and the prime minister appear strong in front of voters.
*Eg Conservative MPs asking David Cameron on the benefits of the government’s economic policies.
*The questions are highly choreographed with PM’s spending Wednesday mornings preparing for possible questions.
*30 mins is also not long enough to answer questions making it not as effective.
Written and Oral Questions EFFECTIVE
*MP’s can ask a written question to any government minister which they have to answer within 7 days.
*they require a written response and it is much harder for a minister to get out of something if they have already committed to it on paper.
*MP’s can also be asked Oral questions. Each parliamentary day starts with Ministerial Questions. Oral questions are effective as Ministers will have to have great knowledge and understanding as they are put on the spot.
*MP’s from the opposition will usually try and catch Ministers out through asking questions.
Written and oral questions INEFFECTIVE
*Ministers can have idea of what sort of questions will be asked and can have time to prepare rough answers before hand.
*The government can set up fixed questions from their own backbenchers to support their policies
*Questions are also often filmed and used as a stunt to make it look like the Government is busy.
Debates EFFECTIVE
*Debates can give MP’s an opportunity to question government policy and to draw attention to aspects of policy which need to be changed.
*effective as televised coverage of Parliament means that a good point raised in debate may well be taken up by the public and may result in pressure on the government to change the policy or approach.
*Adjournment debates give opposition MP’s an opportunity to raise any matter that is of concern to them (lifting cap on NHS workers pay 2017)
*Likewise with Early Day Motions that are used to scrutinise a specific issue. They rarely bring forth legislation but they can highlight concerns and bring forward concerns of constituents.
*Another form of debate is called an emergency debate which is called in times of trouble (Credit Crunch Crisis November 2008)
Debates INEFFECTIVE
However, these debates can be ineffective if the government has a large majority as debates will be one sided.
