Introduction
Chapter I
The House of Commons
- Necessary Conditions to become an MP:
- Parliamentary officials
- The Speaker:
- The Leader of the House of Commons:
- The Whips:
- Main functions of the House of Commons
Elaboration of the Laws (takes up 50% of the time)
Control of budget spending (30%)
Control of the government’s work (20%):
I. Control of the Government:
Control of the government’s work takes up 20% of the time of parliamentary work:
This takes the form of questions addressed by MPs to the secretaries (and member of the Cabinet).
This takes place during question time or during meetings of the parliamentary committees:
This may trigger a debate and lead to a Vote of No Confidence
The Lower House may indicate its lack of support by rejecting a motion of confidence or by passing a motion of no confidence.
- Confidence motions generally originate in the government and are intended to reinforce its support in the House.
- The Opposition introduces No Confidence Motions. (Important bills that form part of the government’s agenda and are stated in the Speech from the Throne are generally considered matters of confidence. If such a bill is defeated in the House of Commons, the Government has lost the confidence of that house and the Prime Minister must either resign or ask for the dissolution of Parliament. A new election is then held.
1. Question Time
Parliamentary questions:
Question Time takes place in the House of Commons at the start of business (in both chambers), after Prayers. These questions are asked at the start of business in both chambers and are known as 'oral questions'.
From Monday to Thursday, the question period lasts about an hour on each of these days. (Oral questions are not taken on Fridays).
Parliamentary questions are used by members to seek information or to press for action.
We can distinguish between different types of questions:
a. Questions for Oral Answer
b. Questions to the Prime Minister
c. Questions for Written Answer
d. Urgent Questions (formerly called before the 2002-2003 session of Parliament as “Private Notice Questions”)
a. Questions for Oral Answer
Oral questions (i.e. questions for oral answer) are tabled 3 days in advance (excluding Fridays and week ends) so the Department concerned has the time to prepare an answer.
They are presented to the Table Office and included in the “Random computer Shuffle”, which will determine the order in which the questions will appear on the “Order of Business”. (Only those at the beginning of the list are guaranteed to be reached during the time allotted to the questions.)
Each government department answers questions according to a rota called the Order of Oral Questions. (The Order of Questions is a document published by the Vote Office which gives the dates and the times of departments answering questions an the deadlines for tabling questions.)
Ministers answer Questions for oral answer on the Floor of the House. Ministers usually have to answer questions once in a five weeks cycle on a particular day of the week.
The Prime Minister answers questions once in a week on Wednesdays.
When larger departments are questioned, junior ministers assist the Secretary of State to answer the questions.
The questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the government department concerned. Ministers have to defend the work and decisions of their Department.
This represents a lot of work for the department because civil servants have to provide for answers and background information and briefing on which the minister may base his answer. Some questions genuinely seek for information, but others try to pinpoint flaws of the government’s policy and suggest alternative. Therefore the research has to be very thorough.
The Speaker sets the process in motion by calling the person whose question is first on the Printed Order of Business.
The MP rises, and says “N°1, Mr. Speaker”. (The Question is printed on the document and therefore he does not have to read the answer.)
Once the question has been answered, the MP who asked he question is generally the first to ask a “follow-up” (= a supplementary) question. Then other MPs ask supplementary questions. The Speaker is in charge of organising the questions in a balanced manner between the opposition and the majority.
Sometimes MPs rise to “Catch the Speaker’s Eye”. The Speaker then decides when there has been sufficient supplementary questions and proceeds with the second question on the Order of Business.
Any oral question that has not been answered receives a written answer printed in the “Hansard”. Oral questions excluded at the time of the Shuffle do not get any answer.
Question time is now divided into 2 parts.
The secretary of state or the minister will first answer questions for Oral Answers tabled in advance.
The minister will then answer what are called Topical questions, a procedure in place since 2007. (Ministers have to anticipate these questions and prepare potential answers)
b. Prime Minister's Question Time
The Prime Minister answers questions from MPs in the Commons for half an hour every Wednesday from 12pm. Harold Macmillan, who was the Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1953 to 1963 introduced this procedure in 1961.
The Prime Minister has to answer supplementary questions which have to arise out of the Original question. Supplementary questions do not have to be tabled 3 days in advance and can therefore be right up to date.
This means, in theory, that the Prime Minister will not know what questions will be asked of him but he will be extensively briefed by government departments.
c. Written questions
MPs and Peers can also ask government ministers questions for written answer. These are often used to obtain detailed information about policies and statistics on the activities of government departments.
d. Urgent Questions (= “Private Notice Questions”)
At times, members may wish to ask an urgent question to a Minister. These questions are subject to the standard rules for questions, but they also must be urgent, and of public importance. The relevant government department is informed at once of the urgent question to be answered this day. It is up to the speaker to allow or not an urgent question. If allowed the question is taken directly after question time.
2. Debate on the Adjournment
An adjournment debate is a way in the Commons of having a general debate without requiring the House to vote.
In the House of Commons, there is a half-hour adjournment debate at the end of each day’s sitting.
Subject matters of adjournment debates are varied; examples include debates on defence issues, pensions and combating benefit fraud. The Speaker chooses Thursday’s subject; for other days, MPs are selected by ballot.
At the end of the day’s business, the Speaker calls a government whip to move ‘That this House do now adjourn’. (Members apply for an adjournment debate to the Speakers Office.)
The MP who tabled the relevant adjournment debate is called to speak and a Minister will reply. The MP has no right of response, but can intervene in the Minister’s speech if he or she is willing to allow it (called ‘giving way’).
3. Select Committees:
This system of Committees was established in 1979.
There are departmental Select Committees but also Non departmental select committees.
Departmental Select Committees are “cross-party” groups of MPs (that is to say, including members from different parties), composed of 11 to 14 members.
The composition of Select Committees reflects the composition of the house. This means that a majority of the members of the committee belong to the governing party. The other members come from the other parties and small parties will not be able to be represented in each committee.
At the Start of each Parliament, the Committee of Selection proposes the names of the members of each Select Committee, which is validated by the house. (Members as a matter of practice are backbenchers.
They generally meet twice a week.
Select Committees are responsible for government scrutiny. They Shadow a government department. They examine “expenditure administration and policy” of the relevant “government department” and associated public bodies such as “quangos” (quasi-autonomous non-governmental associations).
They decide upon their own subject for inquiry within their scope of competence.
They may obtain written as well as oral evidence from people concerned by their inquiry. The cross-examination of witnesses takes place in public. The government department concerned is then also asked to produce written evidence.
The committee then publishes a report, which includes recommendations directed to the government department. The government has to issue a reply within 60 days, which is published by the committee as a public document.
