your parliament: an introduction
TRANSCRIPT
www.parliament.uk/get-involved
An Introduction to Parliament
April 2016
@UKParlOutreach
Parliamentary Outreach and Engagement
www.parliament.uk/get-involved
Parliament’s Outreach Service
• A free service from the Houses of Parliament
• Politically neutral
• Aims to increase knowledge and engagement with work and processes of Parliament
www.parliament.uk/get-involved
Session objectives
By the end of this session, you will know:
• What Parliament is
• What Parliament does
• The difference between Parliament and Government
• The work of an MP
• The work of a Member of the House of Lords
www.parliament.uk/get-involved
What is Parliament?
The Monarch
House of Commons House of Lords
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The Queen
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The House of Commons
• The democratically elected
chamber of Parliament
• 650 MPs, all are elected at
Least every 5 years
• Approximately 70,000 people
per constituency
www.parliament.uk/get-involved
www.parliament.uk/get-involved
What is the role of the House of Lords?
• Scrutinising legislation
• Holding Government
to account
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The House of Lords
• The House of Lords is the second chamber of Parliament, also known as ‘the revising House’
• There are 815 Members in total (177 are Crossbenchers)
• Members include:
• 701 Life Peers
• 88 Hereditary Peers
• 26 Bishops
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The core tasks of Parliament
Makes and passes laws
(Legislation)
Holds Government to account
Enables the Government to set taxes
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The Government
• The party with (usually) the majority of seats in the House of Commons forms the Government
• The Government:• Runs public departments (e.g. Home Office)
• Proposes new laws to Parliament
• Is accountable to Parliament
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Parliament (Westminster)
• Commons, Lords and Monarch
• Holds Government to account
• Passes laws
Government (Whitehall)
• Some MPs and some Lords, chosen by the Prime Minister
• Runs Government departments and public services
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Contacting your MP
• Your MP’s contact details will be on the Parliament website: www.parliament.uk
• You can call the House of Commons Information Office on 020 7219 4272
• Or at your town hall or local library
• Many MPs will have a contact address and number in the constituency
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Contacting Members of the Lords
• You can call the House of Lords Information Office on 020 7219 3107
• Identify Peers who will support your campaign
• Biographies of all Peers are available at www.parliament.uk
• Members of the House of Lords do not have constituencies, so in theory, you can contact any member
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Questions?
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How does Parliament hold Government to account?
@UKParlOutreach
www.parliament.uk/get-involved
Parliamentary Questions
•Parliamentary Questions, questions asked to Government Ministers which allow MPs and Lords to hold the Government to account
•PQs can be tabled for either oral or written answer
•In the Commons, each day includes a different ministerial question time
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Parliamentary Debates•Adjournment debates, in the House of Commons; Questions for Short Debate in the House of Lords
•Opposition Day debates
•Back-Bench Business debates
•General debates
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Questions?
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www.parliament.uk/get-involved
Passage of a Bill
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Public Bill Committees (House of Commons)
• Both Houses refer legislation to committees for detailed discussion and approval
• If the Bill starts in the Commons the committee is able to take evidence from experts and interest groups from outside Parliament
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Questions?
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Select Committees
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Select Committees
• Scrutinise specific areas of work and Government Departments
• Groups and individuals can submit evidence to inquiries
• Relevant Government Department
must respond to the reports they produce
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Select Committees
• In the Commons, Select Committees typically have eleven members
• The Chair of the Committee is elected by MPs from across the House
• Committees are most effective when they work by consensus to produce a report
• Committees scrutinise Government work in detail
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www.parliament.uk/get-involved
E-Petition
Clear request to UK Parliament or the UK Government, about something which is within their responsibility
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All-Party Parliamentary Groups
• Cross-party
• MPs and Members of the House of Lords
• Based around common interest
• Not involved in formal decision making
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Questions?
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Find out more
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Where can I get information?
• www.parliament.uk and @UKParliament
• Commons Information Office
020 7219 4272 [email protected]
• Lords Information Office
020 7219 3107 [email protected]
• Parliament’s Outreach Service
020 7219 1650
www.parliament.uk/get-involved
Questions?