What are select committees?
Committees established to examine specific areas of government policies, the implementation of laws, or government departments
What issues were raised by the health and social care committee in their COVID-19 response investigation?
- the test and trance system wasn’t effective in showing the spread of COVID-19
- delayed lockdown resulted in a higher death rate and infection rate
How did the government respond to the committee finding?;
- there were no changes to the test and trance system
- defended the overall approach and focused on vaccine roll out
How is the executive reliant on parliament?
- legislation
- accountability and scrutiny
List 3 ways government ministers can be held accountable
- PMQs
- select committees
- debate + votes
Why is it important for committees to focus on specific areas like health or defence?
To keep the government accountable and to make sure public money is being used properly
Who can select committees invite as witness?
- government ministers
- experts
- members of the public
- department officials
How does questioning witnesses help committees in their investigations?
Helps committees understand how the government is managing a particular issue
Why might a select committee require a minister to answer questions?
To make sure that parliament and the public are kept informed
What is the purpose of scrutiny in the government?
To help understand the public what the government is doing and why
What do select committees do with the information they collect?
Produce reports that might suggest changes to government policies
In what ways have select committees been successful?
- increase accountability
- improves efficiency and transparency
- reports have to positive changes in government policies
What are some limitations or failures of select committees?
- can’t enforce changes
- 40% of recommendations are accepted by the government
Why might party politics affect the effectiveness of select committees?
MPs avoid critics of their own policies which can weaken independence and effectiveness of the committees
What are the differences between opposition and official opposition?
• opposition:
- compromises all political parties not in government
- to scrutinise government policies, propose alternative, and hold the government accountable
• official opposition:
- the largest party not in government typically led by the leader of the opposition
- holds the position of alternative government
- shadows key ministers
- receive funding and resources
List arguments for whether the opposition is significant?
• YES
-PMQs
- select committees
- opposition days
• NO
- FPTP
- whip system
- PMQs
- use of royal prerogative
Give a case study that shows the role of opposition
- the conservative party opposed labour’s decision to join the Iraq war, calling for more evidence to justify the invasion.
despite their vocal criticism, the war went ahead
|Stop the war (1 million marched)
List features of powerful and successful of PM
- willing to compromise
- follows their manifesto
- expertise
- good relationship with the media
- fair representation of the people
Give the definition of the executive
The branch of government responsible for making decisions, implementing laws and running the country
(Includes the prime minister, cabinet and government departments)
What are the three branches of government?
- the legislative
- the executive
- the judiciary
What are the roles of the executive?
- conduct foreign policy
- manage the economy
- develop government policies
- organise defence from external threats
- drafting and attempting to pass laws
How does the executive dominate legislation?
- initiation of legislation
- secondary legislation
What are statutory instruments?
A type of secondary legislation made by government ministers to change or add details to laws without passing a new act
What are the two types of SIs
• affirmative SIs- must be approved by parliament before becoming law
• negative SLs - automatically become law unless parliament objects with a set period (40 days)
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Realism - paper 351
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Socialism91
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Conservativism45
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Nationalism22
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Liberalism40
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constitution- paper 231
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uk democracy- paper 131
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parliament - paper 255
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Executive- Paper 256
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relations between institutions- paper 232
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pressure groups- paper 117
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pretection of rights - paper 117
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political parties - paper 143
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electoral systems - paper 128
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voting behaviour- paper 130
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Global Liberalism - Paper 336
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power & developments53
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political governance- paper 384
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states & globalisation64
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environmental governance5
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human rights - paper 30
