What are the four types of legislation?
Public/govt bills
Private members bills
Private bills
Hybrid bills
What is a public bill?
Makes up govts annual legislative programme
Normally consist of around 30 bills
Aim to give effect to govt policy objectives
What’s a private members bill?
Introduced by MP or peer, who ARENT members of govt
Very little chance of enactment without govt support, and if so are minor or technical
Can raise profile of a topic
What’s a private bill?
Promoted by authorities or private companies
Attempt to give themselves powers above or conflicting with current govt law
What did NORTON say on role of Parliament in legislating?
More accurate to describe Parliament not as law making, but as a law-effecting institution
What was NORTON’S reasoning?
Parliament is heavily conditioned by level of govt control in H of C
PAGE on actual law making
The idea that a politician is the author of legislation confuses constitutional formality with empirical reality
GOLDSMITH in agreement with PAGE
A bill is first and foremost the legal expression of a policy developed within a particular govt department
The two fundamental questions asked of parliamentary scrutiny
- What form does scrutiny take?
2. How well does Parliament discharge this function?
What does The process of P scrutiny mean?
It’s structured, transparent and public
What did RIPPON note in 1992?
Widely recognised P is often unable to scrutinise properly
Govts are able to force legislation through a complacent and submissive parliament
AMERY in 1953 on P
‘An overworked legislation factory’
TONY WRIGHT MP on ineffectiveness of P accountability being most apparent in scrutiny of legislation (2003)
- Whole process is firmly controlled by the govt, serious scrutiny by govt members actively discouraged
- Much legislation is defective > vast quantities of amendments made at H of L stage = unelected
- Govt control of P timetable means these Bills can be voted through commons quickly with little scrutiny
Why is WRIGHT’s view a bit of an oversimplification?
Despite party whip system, not all MPs do what they’re told all the time
3 reasons for ineffective P scrutiny
- Adversarial party politics and gov dominance of commons
- Parliaments limited competence
- Govt dominance of entire legislative procedure
Describe issues of adversarial party politics/govt dominance in commons
- Overriding assumption MPs support their party = almost always govt bills pass
- Three line whip risks expulsion from party for rebelling
- Even if opposition oppose Bill it will still pass - elected dictatorship?
- Although P can comment and subject Bill to public scrutiny, P effectively reduced to form of constant electoral campaign, with parties trying to score political points off each other
Example of rebellion thwarting govt legislation
Labour govt elected in 1997 face their first defeat in commons in 2005 when backbenchers refused to approve TERRORISM ACT 2006
(Proposal to allow precharge detention of terrorist suspects for up to 90 days)
Describe issues of P’s limits competence
- MPs often lack understanding of the legislation itself
- Legislation can be incredibly complex so it’s hard to understand anyway
- MPs are generalists and cannot possibly develop expertise in all areas of public policy
- P is relatively small compared to govt
NB appointed HoL allows for expertise and experience in the scrutiny process
JOHN STUART MILL on P’s limited competence
‘A numerous assembly is little fitted for the direct business of legislation [should be left to those with] requisite skill’
Parliament should be reduced to ‘approving or disproving the results’
JOHNSON on P incompetence
‘Contemporary shortage in HoC itself of the kind of experience and skill’ need to scrutinise legislation
Which empirical study expressed views of MPs themselves on P scrutiny ?
Law in the making by BRAZIER et al 2008
What were BRAZIER’s findings in Law in the making
- MPs often do not understand subject matter of Bills they are scrutinising
- A number of parliamentarians explained that anywhere from a quarter to half of legislation they voted on was effectively a mystery to them
Describe issues of govt dominance throughout legislative procedure
- Govt dominates not only whether a law is passed but also the procedure by which this happens
- Allocate how much time is given to discuss, a bill
- It is in public interest to pass a Bill quickly but result is often a bypassing of scrutiny
= reality is lawmaking is more an exercise of brute executive power and political necessity than one of debate and persuasion (ELLIOT AND THOMAS)
What is govt ‘programming’?
Govt imposition of a timetable for passage of a Bill after its second reading
