Administrative Review and Oversight: the Experience of Westminster
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Report of the Select Committee on the Reduction of Standing Committees of Tynwald
REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE REDUCTION OF STANDING COMMITTEES OF TYNWALD t i I. • REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE REDUCTION OF STANDING COMMITTEES OF TYNWALD To the Honourable Noel Q Cringle, President of Tynwald, and the Honourable Members of the Council and Keys in Tynwald assembled PART 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Background At the sitting of Tynwald Court on 21st May 2002 it was resolved that a Select Committee of five members be established to - "investigate and report by no later than July 2003 on the feasibility of reducing the number of Standing Committees of Tynwald along with any recommendations as to the responsibilities and membership and any proposals for change." 2. Mr Karran, Mr Lowey, Mr Quayle, Mr Quine and Mr Speaker were elected. At 4, the first meeting Mr Speaker was unanimously elected as Chairman. 3. The Committee has held four meetings. C/RSC/02/plb PART 2 STRATEGY 2.1 The Committees of Tynwald that would be examined were determined as: Committee on Constitutional Matters; Committee on the Declaration of Members' Interests, Ecclesiastical Committee; Committee on Economic Initiatives; Joint Committee on the Emoluments of Certain Public Servants; Committee on Expenditure and Public Accounts; Tynwald Ceremony Arrangements Committee; Tynwald Honours Committee; Tynwald Management Committee; Tynwald Members' Pension Scheme Management Committee; and Tynwald Standing Orders Committee of Tynwald. A brief summary of the membership and terms of reference of each standing committee is attached as Appendix 1. 2 C/RSC/02/plb 2.2 In order to facilitate its investigation your Committee also decided that - (a) Comparative information on committee structures in adjacent parliaments should be obtained. -
Programme for Committee Clerks of the Parliament of Guyana
0 1021CBP/GUYANA15 CPA UK & Parliament of Guyana Capacity Building Programme Activity 1: Programme for Committee Clerks of the Parliament of Guyana 16-19 November 2015, Houses of Parliament, London Report 1 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 2. AIM & OBJECTIVES 3 3. FACILITATORS AND DELEGATION 3 4. PROGRAMME DETAILS 4 5. PROGRAMME COMMENTS 7 WIDENING THE SCOPE AND IMPACT OF COMMITTEE INQUIRIES 7 LIAISON COMMITTEE 8 THE RESPECT POLICY 8 PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH 9 SECURITY SENSITIVE COMMITTEES 9 MINUTES, BRIEFS AND REPORTS 10 RESEARCH 11 6. PROGRAMME BUDGET 12 7. OUTCOMES AND FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES 12 8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 13 9. ABOUT CPA UK 13 ANNEX A. PARTICIPANT BIOGRAPHIES 14 B. SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES 16 1 2 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.01 In October 2015, CPA UK and the Parliament of Guyana embarked on a seven-month Capacity Building Programme jointly funded by CPA UK and the British High Commission, Georgetown. The aims of the wider programme are to: • Enhance the Assembly’s ability to conduct its business effectively • Work with the Assembly’s parliamentary committees to enhance their oversight capacity • Work with the Parliamentary Leadership, to strengthen its administrative, financial, and procedural independence • Work with parliamentary officials to support the functioning of the Assembly • Address the challenges of maintaining a successful coalition government • Support the interaction between UK, Guyanese and Caribbean Parliamentarians to discuss issues of regional interest; sustainability, energy and development 1.2 The first agreed activity of the Capacity Building Programme was a Workshop for Committee Clerks of the Parliament of Guyana based in Westminster. 1.3 The Programme involved two Committee Clerks and four Assistant Committee Clerks. -
Parliamentary Committees
18 Parliamentary committees The principal purpose of parliamentary committees is to perform functions which the Houses themselves are not well fitted to perform, that is, finding out the facts of a case or issue, examining witnesses, sifting evidence, and drawing up reasoned conclusions. Because of their composition and method of procedure, which is structured but generally informal compared with the Houses, committees are well suited to the gathering of evidence from expert groups or individuals. In a sense they ‘take Parliament to the people’ and allow direct contact between members of the public by representative groups of Members of the House. Not only do committee inquiries enable Members to be better informed about community views but in simply undertaking an inquiry committees may promote public debate on the subject at issue. The all-party composition of most committees and their propensity to operate across party lines are important features. This bipartisan approach generally manifests itself throughout the conduct of inquiries and the drawing up of conclusions. Committees oversight and scrutinise the Executive and are able to contribute towards a better informed administration and government policy-making process. In respect of their formal proceedings committees are microcosms and extensions of the Houses themselves, limited in their power of inquiry by the extent of the authority delegated to them and governed for the most part in their proceedings by procedures and practice which reflect those which prevail in the House by which they were appointed.1 AUTHORITY FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEES The power of the House to appoint committees is not in doubt but the source of this power, particularly in regard to investigatory committees, cannot be stated precisely. -
The House of Commons Modernisation Committee: Who Needs It?
The House of Commons Modernisation Committee: Who Needs It? British Journal of Politics and International Relation (2007), vol.9, no.1, pp.138-157. Alexandra Kelso Department of Politics and International Relations, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK. [email protected] Abstract Modernisation has been rhetorically important for the Labour government since 1997, and it found a dedicated outlet through the House of Commons Modernisation Committee. This committee has pursued a particular type of modernisation, which this article seeks to explore. It does this by focusing on three issues. First, it examines the role of the Leader of the House of Commons in the chair of the Modernisation Committee. Second, it looks at the work of the Modernisation Committee in comparison to that of the Procedure Committee. Finally, it contextualises the discussion of modernisation with reference to the distinction between efficiency reforms and effectiveness reforms, and explores what this reveals about the complexity of executive–legislative relations at Westminster, and about the course of the modernisation debate since 1997. Introduction New Labour came to power in 1997 committed to a modernising agenda informed by its adherence to the so-called Third Way, and its promise of renewing social democracy (Giddens 1998 and 2000; Clift 2001). The discourse of the Third Way signified a ‘reconfiguration of relationships between economy and state, public and private, government and people’, in which ‘modernisation was a label attached to a wide-range of institutional reforms, including those of government, party and the political process itself’ (Newman 2001, 40). -
Committee Name
House of Commons Liaison Committee Legacy Report First Report of Session 2014–15 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 11 March 2015 HC 954 [INCORPORATING HC 774, SESSION 2013-14] Published on 24 March 2015 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00 Liaison Committee The Liaison Committee is appointed to consider general matters relating to the work of select committees; to advise the House of Commons Commission on select committees; to choose select committee reports for debate in the House and to hear evidence from the Prime Minister on matters of public policy. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) and further details can be found on the Committee’s web pages at www.parliament.uk/liaisoncom Current membership Rt Hon Sir Alan Beith MP (Liberal Democrat, Berwick-upon-Tweed) (Chair) The Chair of the following Select Committees are members of the Liaison Committee: Administration – Rt Hon Sir Alan Haselhurst MP (Conservative, Saffron Walden) Backbench Business – Natascha Engel MP (Labour, North East Derbyshire) Business, Innovation and Skills – Mr Adrian Bailey MP (Labour/Co-op, West Bromwich West) Communities and Local Government – Mr Clive Betts MP (Labour, Sheffield South East) Culture, Media and Sport – Mr John Whittingdale MP (Conservative, Maldon) Defence – Rory Stewart MP (Conservative, Penrith and The Border) Education – Mr Graham Stuart MP (Conservative, Beverley and Holderness) Energy and Climate Change -
Westminster Seminar on Effective Parliaments 2019
Westminster Seminar on Effective Parliaments 2019 UK SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES PARLIAMENTARIANS PROGRAMME SESSION 2: DIVERSITY WITHIN PARLIAMENT BARONESS LIZ BARKER MONDAY 25 NOVEMBER Baroness Barker has been a Liberal Democrat Peer since 1999. She has been a spokesperson on pensions and health, charities and social en- SESSION 1: EFFECTIVE PARLIAMENTS AND OUR ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES terprise, and LGBT rights. She is Vice-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Global LGBTI Rights, HIV/AIDS, APPG on Sexual and Reproductive Health. She is a member of APPGs on Nigeria and India. A supporter of Open for Business, Liz is the CEO of ThirdSectorBusiness, a consultancy DAME MARGARET HODGE which specialises in charities and social enterprise. She advises parliamen- tarians, companies and NGOs around the world on how to work together to Margaret became the Labour Member of Parliament for Barking in June accelerate change. Justice for minorities, equality for women and girls, and 1994. She has served in government, holding portfolios across education, respect for older people are the themes which recur through Liz’s work. She work and pensions, business and culture. In 2010, Margaret also became is currently leading work in parliament on trans, non-binary and intersex le- the first elected Chair of the Public Accounts Committee and was also its gal recognition and celebrating equality developments in Northern Ireland. first female Chair. Today, Margaret is the Chair of the APPG on Responsible Tax, as well as the Chair for organisations in the arts and higher education. PIPPA PATTERSON Pippa Patterson is the Clerk of the House of Lords EU Home Affairs Com- mittee, which scrutinises the UK Government’s approach to EU policy on immigration, asylum, police and security cooperation, healthcare, sport and PROFESSOR PHILIP NORTON education. -
The Scrutiny Unit: a Guide to Its Work the Scrutiny Unit: a Guide to Its Work the Scrutiny Unit: a Guide to Its Work
The Scrutiny Unit: A guide to its work The Scrutiny Unit: A guide to its work The Scrutiny Unit: A guide to its work What is the Scrutiny Unit? What did the Unit do in 2008? What do people say about the Unit? The Unit exists to provide specialist help to select Examples of our recent work include: Several select committees have commented on the committees in the scrutiny of the Government’s assistance they have received from the Unit in the past financial and performance reporting and of draft bills. It • Supported pre‐legislative scrutiny by joint year. For instance, the Transport Committee has noted also carries out other work for select committees as committees of both Houses of the draft that it received “a great deal of support from the resources permit. The Unit also supports the evidence‐ Marine Bill and draft Constitutional Renewal Committee Office Scrutiny Unit, which provided us with taking work of Public Bill Committees. Bill significant help with our inquiries” and the Justice Committee refers to the “invaluable help” of the Unit Why is there a Scrutiny Unit? • Supported evidence‐taking by 12 Public Bill and its staff. Committees, including those on the Banking In its 1993 Commission on the legislative process, the Bill and the Counter‐Terrorism Bill The Liaison Committee, made up of the Chairmen of all Hansard Society wrote that “Parliament could play a the select committees, wrote in its most recent annual greater part by pre‐legislative inquiry in the preparation • Provided analysis of Estimates and report that the Unit had “added particular value to the of legislation”. -
Fitting the Bill: Bringing Commons Legislation Committees Into Line with Best Practice
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE FITTING THE BILL BRINGING COMMONS LEGISLATION COMMITTEES INTO LINE WITH BEST PRACTICE MEG RUSSELL, BOB MORRIS AND PHIL LARKIN Fitting the Bill: Bringing Commons legislation committees into line with best practice Meg Russell, Bob Morris and Phil Larkin Constitution Unit June 2013 ISBN: 978-1-903903-64-3 Published by The Constitution Unit School of Public Policy UCL (University College London) 29/30 Tavistock Square London WC1H 9QU Tel: 020 7679 4977 Fax: 020 7679 4978 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/ ©The Constitution Unit, UCL 2013 This report is sold subject to the condition that is shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. First Published June 2013 2 Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 4 Executive summary ............................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 7 Part I: The current system .................................................................................................... 9 The Westminster legislative process in -
Workshop on Committees in Comparative Perspective
Post-Legislative Scrutiny in the UK Parliament: Adding Value PHILIP NORTON Legislatures appoint committees for different purposes. The UK Parliament is unusual in that both Houses utilise committees to engage in post-legislative scrutiny. We examine why each engages in this type of scrutiny, given competing demands for limited resources. Distributive and informational theories are utilised to explain the difference between the two chambers, identifying why the form of asymmetrical bicameralism to be found in the United Kingdom facilitates scrutiny that would otherwise not be undertaken. The genesis and impact of post-legislative scrutiny committees are considered, with a focus on the House of Lords and why the use of such committees plays to the strengths of the House. ______________________________________________ The UK Parliament, like other legislatures in Westminster systems of government, has been characterised by an emphasis on chamber deliberation at the expense of specialisation through committees. Although provision for the appointment of investigative committees (select committees) is longstanding, such committees were rarely used after the emergence in the 19th Century of party- dominated adversarial politics. The 20th Century was characterised primarily by House of Commons committees set up on ad hoc basis (albeit known as standing committees) to facilitate the passage of government legislation. In the unelected second chamber, the House of Lords, virtually all business was conducted through the chamber. The use of committees by the House of Commons was explicable in terms of partisan theory (Cox and McCubbins 1993). Given the chamber-oriented emphasis, the use of distributive and informational theories, used especially to explain legislative committees in the US Congress (see Shepsle 1978, Weingast, 1979, Gilligan and Krehbiel 1990, 1 Krehbiel 1990, 1992, Martorano 2006), had little salience. -
REPORT of the STANDING ORDERS and PROCEDURE COMMITTEE on COMMISSION on GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDATIONS I
REPORT OF THE STANDING ORDERS AND PROCEDURE COMMITTEE on COMMISSION ON GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Presented by: Mr R C Bloffwitch, MLA REPORT OF THE STANDING ORDERS AND PROCEDURE COMMITTEE on COMMISSION ON GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Presented by: Mr R C Bloffwitch, MLA Laid on the Table of the Legislative Assembly on 18 June 1998 ORDERED TO BE PRINTED REPORT OF THE STANDING ORDERS AND PROCEDURE COMMITTEE ON COMMISSION ON GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDATIONS i COMMITTEE MEMBERS Chairman: Mr George J. Strickland, MLA (Speaker of the Legislative Assembly) Members: Mr Robert C Bloffwitch, MLA (Chairman of Committees and Member for Geraldton) Mr Robert F. Johnson, MLA (Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet and Member for Hillarys) Mr Eric S. Ripper, MLA (Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Member for Belmont) Mrs Michelle H. Roberts, MLA (Member for Midland) COMMITTEE STAFF Clerk to the Committee: Mr Peter J. McHugh (Clerk of the Legislative Assembly) Mr Doug Carpenter (Deputy Clerk of the Legislative Assembly) Mr John Mandy (Clerk Assistant and Sergeant-at-Arms) COMMITTEE ADDRESS Legislative Assembly of Western Australia Parliament House, Harvest Terrace, Perth WA 6000 Phone: (61 8) 9222 7215 Fax: (61 8) 9222 7818 ii REPORT OF THE STANDING ORDERS AND PROCEDURE COMMITTEE ON COMMISSION ON GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDATIONS iii TERMS OF REFERENCE On 26 November 1997 the House forwarded to the Standing Orders and Procedure Committee the following Commission on Government recommendations for consideration and report by 11 June 1998 - Recommendation 2 - Evidence -
Should There Be a Commons Budget Committee?
House of Commons Procedure Committee Should there be a Commons Budget Committee? Tenth Report of Session 2017–19 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 3 July 2019 HC 1482 Published on 9 July 2019 by authority of the House of Commons Procedure Committee The Procedure Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to consider the practice and procedure of the House in the conduct of public business, and to make recommendations. Current membership Mr Charles Walker MP (Conservative, Broxbourne) (Chair) Bob Blackman MP (Conservative, Harrow East) Kirsty Blackman MP (Conservative, Aberdeen North) Mr Peter Bone MP (Conservative, Wellingborough) Bambos Charalambous MP (Labour, Enfield, Southgate) Sir Christopher Chope MP (Conservative, Christchurch) Nic Dakin MP (Labour, Scunthorpe) Chris Elmore MP (Labour, Ogmore) Sir David Evennett MP (Conservative, Bexleyheath and Crayford) Helen Goodman MP (Labour, Bishop Auckland) Mr Ranil Jayawardena MP (Conservative, North East Hampshire) Sir Edward Leigh MP (Conservative, Gainsborough) David Linden MP (Scottish National Party, Glasgow East) Melanie Onn MP (Labour, Great Grimsby) Nick Smith MP (Labour, Blaenau Gwent) Gareth Snell MP (Labour (Co-op)) Mr William Wragg MP (Conservative, Hazel Grove) Powers The powers of the Committee are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No. 147. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk. Publication Committee reports are published on the Committee’s website at www.parliament.uk/proccom and in print by Order of the House. Evidence relating to this report is published on the inquiry publications page of the Committee’s website. -
Questioning the Prime Minister: How Effective Is the Liaison Committee?
PROJECT REPORT QUESTIONING THE PRIME MINISTER: HOW EFFECTIVE IS THE LIAISON COMMITTEE? Dr Mark Bennister, Canterbury Christ Church University Dr Alexandra Kelso, University of Southampton Dr Phil Larkin, University of Canberra CONTENTS Preface .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 Research Team ............................................................................................................................................. 4 Mark Bennister ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Alexandra Kelso ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Phil Larkin ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 6 1.1 Prime Ministerial Accountability to Parliament ......................................................................... 6 1.2 Liaison Committee Evidence Sessions .......................................................................................