Reports of Parliament’s decline much exaggerated

Blick, Andrew (2010) Reports of Parliament’s decline much exaggerated. Democratic Audit UK (01 Jun 2010). Website.

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Abstract

The last decade has seen a series of significant innovations in the way Parliament holds government to account, mostly involving the House of Commons, but in some cases the House of Lords as well. They include: More resources for select committees; The introduction of ‘core tasks’ for select committees in the Commons setting out their work objectives; More select committees in both houses, holding more inquiries and producing more reports; The Prime Minister holding twice-annual oral evidence sessions with the House of Commons Liaison Committee, which comprises the chairs of the various Commons select committees; The introduction of public bill committees for more effective legislative scrutiny in the Commons; Greater transparency for executive financial accountability to Parliament; A Commons backbench business committee, to some extent loosening the grip of the executive, via the whips, on the Commons timetable; Elections for Commons committee members and chairs, again lessening the influence of the whips; Pre-appointment hearings by Commons committees for preferred candidates for major public appointments; and The placing of powers previously exercised under the extra-parliamentary Royal Prerogative on a statutory basis, making Parliament the ultimate authority. Most notably, the Civil Service is now regulated by an Act of Parliament.

Item Type:	Online resource (Website)
Official URL:	http://www.democraticaudit.com
Additional Information:	© 2010 The Author(s)
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	J Political Science > JC Political theory J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain K Law > KD England and Wales K Law > KD England and Wales > KDC Scotland
Date Deposited:	14 Jun 2017 11:52
Last Modified:	15 Sep 2023 18:10
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/81219

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