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The 11-week parliamentary recess is now under way, amid the familiar annual charges of laziness and waste. As the Hansard Society's new study on the law making process reveals, parliamentary time is precious. Parliament and government should explore further ways of using the existing parliamentary time more efficiently.
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Your Parliament explains the basics of the British political system: the work of Parliament, the role of MPs and peers, and how laws are made. It also describes how to get involved: through voting, contacting your MP or visiting the Houses of Parliament.
The Your Parliament pamphlet provides clear, straightforward explanations on questions such as: What is Parliament? How is the UK run? Who are MPs and peers? What are political parties? How are new laws made? How do I vote? Why should I get involved? How can I get involved or find out more?
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Parliament's primary and best-known function is to make laws which affect all of us on a daily basis. However, there is a widely held view that Parliament does not have much impact on the content of legislation - that it simply puts a rubber stamp on the government's proposals. But to what extent is this actually the case? While a great deal of public attention is given to individual laws, the process by which policy proposals evolve into acts of Parliament is not well understood.
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Parliamentary scrutiny does make a difference to legislation: new Hansard Society research challenges conventional view of Parliament’s effectiveness
A new publication from the Hansard Society, Law in the Making: Influence and Change in the Legislative Process, analyses the influences and elements that come together to make an act of Parliament and concludes that the widely-held view of Parliament as a ‘rubber stamp’ for government legislation bears little resemblance to reality.
The research draws upon the findings from five detailed case studies and over 80 exclusive interviews with ministers, MPs, peers, government and parliamentary officials and pressure groups.
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Alex Brazier, Director of the Hansard Society's Parliament and Government programme, was interviewed on his thoughts about political engagement (or the lack of it) as highlighted in the most recent Audit of Political Engagement. Tony Benn, Iain Dale, Anne McElvoy and Liam Fogarty also gave their thoughts on this issue.
To listen to the programme click here.
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Liaison Committee’s recommendations on financial scrutiny a real step forward
The Hansard Society welcomes the House of Commons’ Liaison Committee report on financial scrutiny and urges Parliament to do more to scrutinise and seek accountability for government spending.
The Hansard Society’s report The Fiscal Maze; Parliament, Government and Public Money (2006), made several proposals to improve Parliament’s financial scrutiny functions. The Hansard Society welcomes the Liaison Committee’s recommendations which, if implemented, represent a real move in the right direction.
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It makes good sense for any organisation to play to its strengths, particularly one which has to deal with issues of disconnection from those it serves. For that reason, giving a more central role to select committees, particularly within the Commons, should be a priority for future parliamentary reform.
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Gordon Brown has made constitutional reform a centrepiece of his premiership. Less than a week after taking office, he unveiled a green paper which set out a dizzyingly wide range of options for enhancing the accountability of the executive, the power of Parliament and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. The latest Audit of Political Engagement reveals that the government's task will be far from easy for two reasons: 1) most people know very little about constitutional issues and 2) there is a complete lack of public consensus on what should be changed.
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The April 2008 edition of Parliamentary Affairs includes an article by Susanna Kalitowski, Research Fellow on the Hansard Society's Parliament & Government Programme, on the No Overall Control publication.
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On 20 March, Leader of the House of Commons Harriet Harman MP announced that the government is to introduce a system of post-legislative scrutiny to look at the effect and impact of laws, three years after they are passed. The Government’s Paper Post-Legislative Scrutiny - The Government's Approach outlines proposals for implementing post-legislative scrutiny.
The Hansard Society has long called for improved scrutiny of legislation after it has been enacted by Parliament to learn how individual laws are working in practice and we welcome the government’s commitment to introduce post-legislative scrutiny.
In 2005, the Hansard Society produced a Briefing Paper, Post-legislative Scrutiny, which discusses this subject and is available for download.