Download or read book Lay Membership of the Committee on Standards and Privileges written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Procedure and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2011 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The House should be given the opportunity to restate its acceptance of the principle behind the proposal that lay members be added to the Committee on Standards and Privileges, the Procedure Committee concludes in a report published today. The committee's report responds to the resolution of the House of 2 December last year that lay members should sit on the Committee on Standards and Privileges. If that principle is restated, the House should study with care the arguments made for the inclusion of lay members with or without voting rights, and decide whether lay members should be appointed to the committee with full voting rights or whether they should be appointed with more limited rights protected by rules on quorum and publication of their opinion or advice. A decision in favour of membership with full voting rights would require legislation to be brought forward to put beyond reasonable doubt any question of whether parliamentary privilege applies to the Committee on Standards where it has an element of lay membership. The Procedure Committee recommends that the Committee on Standards and Privileges should be split in two, and that lay members should be included only on the committee relating to standards. The committee also makes a number of practical recommendations about the number, appointment and term of office of lay members.
Download or read book Parliamentary privilege written by Great Britain: Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-04-26 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parliamentary privilege ensures that Members of Parliament are able to speak freely in debates, and protects Parliament's internal affairs from interference from the courts. Following (failed) attempts by some MPs to use parliamentary privilege to avoid prosecution for expenses fraud, the Government felt the time was right for a comprehensive review of the privileges of Parliament. Freedom of speech is arguably the most important privilege: a member must be able to speak or raise a matter without fear of a criminal or civil liability. The Government does not feel it necessary to change the protection of privilege in civil cases, nor in relation to injunctions or super-injunctions. But it is open to question whether parliamentary privilege should ever prevent members being successfully prosecuted for criminal offences. The paper consults on whether privilege should be disapplied in cases of alleged criminality, though not in respect of speeches in Parliament. The second major privilege is that of exclusive cognisance: the right of each House to regulate its own proceedings and internal affairs without interference from any outside body including the courts. This includes the conduct of its Members, and of other participants such as witnesses before select committees. Recent court judgments make clear that statute law on employment, health and safety etc do apply to Parliament providing the law would not interfere with Parliament's core functions. The green paper also consults on extending and strengthening select committee powers. A final section covers other miscellaneous privileges.
Download or read book Recall of MPs written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Government published a draft Bill on the Recall of MPs, with the aim of restoring faith in the political process after the expenses scandal. But the restricted form of recall proposed could reduce public confidence in politics by creating expectations that are not fulfilled. Under the Government's proposals, constituents themselves would not be able to initiate a recall petition. Furthermore, the circumstances that the Government proposes would trigger a recall petition are so narrow that recall petitions would seldom, if ever, take place. The Committee believes that the new House of Commons Committee on Standards, which will include lay members, already has the sanctions it needs to deal with MPs who are guilty of misconduct, including recommending the ultimate sanction of expulsion from the House of Commons in cases of serious wrongdoing. The Committee argues that the option of expulsion must be actively considered and that the House must be prepared to act. The Committee recommends: that the Government replace the requirement for a single designated location for signing the recall petition with a requirement for multiple locations; that people with an existing postal vote should automatically be sent a postal signature sheet in the event of a recall petition; that constituents in Northern Ireland should have the same options for signing a recall petition as constituents elsewhere in the UK, rather than being restricted to signing by post
Download or read book House of Commons Procedure Committee Private members Bills Governemtn Response and Revised Proposals HC 1171 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Procedure Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-03-31 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report follows the Committee's report of September 2013 on private Members' bills. Since then they have received a Government response, which is published as an appendix to this report, and discussed recommendations further with the Leader of the House. This report sets out a revised package of recommendations for reform of the private Member's bill process. The revised proposals include that: the House should agree to a convention that the question on second reading of a private Member's bill should be put to the House at the end of a full day's debate, in the same way that the House expects the question to be put on second reading of a Government bill; Bills which have not been published should be clearly identified in the Future Business section of the Order Paper; Pages should be provided on the Parliamentary website where draft private Members' bills can be made available online for scrutiny and comment which should be done on a pilot basis in the 2014-15 session; a bill need not be brought in immediately after leave is granted under the ten minute rule; the risk of a single Member monopolising the limited opportunities for debate of private Members' bills should be reduced by providing that a private Member may present no more than one bill on any one day; the deadline for publishing a private Member's bill should be brought forward to the Wednesday of the week prior to the day of second reading; Private Members' bills should be called "backbench bills"
Download or read book OECD Public Governance Reviews Public Integrity in Malta Improving the Integrity and Transparency Framework for Elected and Appointed Officials written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2023-10-27 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report provides concrete recommendations for strengthening the legislative and institutional framework for elected and appointed officials in Malta. It reviews the institutional and procedural set-up of the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life and analyses the omissions, inconsistencies and overlaps in the Standards in Public Life Act.
Download or read book Unlocking Constitutional and Administrative Law written by Mark Ryan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-05-16 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Constitutional and administrative law (Public law) is an essential element of all law degrees. UNLOCKING CONSTITUTIONAL & ADMINISTRATIVE LAW will ensure that you grasp the main concepts with ease, providing you with an indispensable foundation in the subject. This revised third edition is fully up-to-date with the latest key changes in the law. The UNLOCKING THE LAW series is designed specifically to make the law accessible. Each chapter contains: aims and objectives, activities such as self-test questions, key facts charts to consolidate your knowledge diagrams to aid memory and understanding prominently displayed cases and judgments chapter summaries a glossary of legal terminology essay questions with answer plans. The series covers all the core subjects required by the Bar Council and the Law Society for entry onto professional qualifications as well as popular option units. The website www.unlockingthelaw.co.uk provides free resources such as multiple choice questions and updates to the law.
Download or read book Statements by Members who Answer on Behalf of Statutory Bodies written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Procedure Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Standing Orders and the practice of the House enable Ministers to make written and oral statements to the House on matters of public importance. That facility is not available to Members who answer in the House on behalf of statutory bodies which are not subject to direct Ministerial accountability such as the House of Commons Commission and the Church Commissioners. Consequently contrivances such as a "planted" written question or an agreed urgent question are necessary in circumstances where an announcement is to be made to the House. The Committee considered whether arrangements might be put in place to enable, in appropriate circumstances, Members answering in the House on behalf of statutory bodies to make written and oral statements. They recommend that the necessary amendments be made to Standing Order No. 22A to enable those Members to make written statements and that those Members who are for the time being on the rota for oral questions should be enabled, on being granted permission in advance by the Speaker, to make an oral statement to the House
Download or read book House of Commons Committee on Standards All Party Parliamentary Groups HC357 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committee on Standards and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) are groups of Members, from both Houses, who may or may not be supported by outside organisations, and are established for a wide range of purposes. There is a Register of such groups, overseen by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. There has been increasing concern that APPGs pose a reputational risk to the House in several ways: they may provide access for lobbyists; they put pressure on resources; and their output is confused with that of official select committees. But APPGs also provide: forums for cross-party interaction which is not controlled by the whips, interaction between the Members of the Commons and the Lords; and a forum for parliamentarians, academics, business people, the third sector and other interested parties; time and space for policy discussion and debate; and a means for back bench parliamentarians to set the policy agenda. There is a longstanding dilemma about the regulation of APPGs: they are essentially informal groupings, established by individual Members, yet the more restrictions and requirements that are placed on them, the more they appear to be endorsed by the House. The House of Commons Commission has already decided to withdraw the passes of APPG staff. The Committee proposes a package of reforms: ensure that Members' responsibility for APPG activity is clear and accountable; ensure transparency not only about external support, but also about the activities funded by such support; and far greater clarity about the status of the various types of informal work that Members carry out.
Download or read book Review of the Backbench Business Committee written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Procedure Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-11-22 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Additional written evidence is contained in Vol. 2, available on the Committee website at www.parliament.uk/proccom
Download or read book HC 1121 Matters for the Procedure Committee in the 2015 Parliament written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Procedure and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 25 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Monitoring written Parliamentary questions written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Procedure Committee and published by Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-05-08 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In October 2010 the Committee in response to a report by its predecessor committee began a trial exercise in monitoring unsatisfactory and late answers to written Parliamentary questions. With just over 50 complaints from Members in response to the exercise of which half were followed up. This resulted in answers for Members on a number of occasions in circumstances where they would otherwise have found difficult or impossible to follow up on an inadequate response. The exercise will now come to an end and be put on a more permanent footing.In consideration of a memorandum from the Leader of the House providing statistics on the time taken to respond to WPQs in 2010-12, the committee has sought explanations from Ministers in charge of poorly performing departments for the level of performance in the memorandum and what steps are being taken to improve these levels. The Department for Education had a particularly poor performance and evidence was taken from the Parliamentary Under Secretary and a senior official in the Department which the Committee found unsatisfactory with and so a follow up session with the Permanent Secretary and Secretary of State was undertaken. The Committee will continue its interest in the answering performance of this Department and hold it to further account should its performance not improve markedly.
Download or read book Debates on Government E petitions in Westminster Hall written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Procedure Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-04-22 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In July 2012, the House agreed to allow debates on Government e-petitions to take place on Mondays in Westminster Hall, on a trial basis during the current session. Three debates have taken place during the session, with a fourth scheduled on the day of publication of this report (22 April 2013). The Government's e-petitions website continues to be popular, and a dedicated slot in Westminster Hall on Monday afternoon provides a clear end-point for the process. The Procedure Committee agrees with the Backbench Business Committee that the trial has been successful and recommends that the temporary changes to the Standing Orders be made permanent.
Download or read book Robert s Rules of Order Newly Revised 12th edition written by Henry M. Robert III and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2020-08-25 with total page 848 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only current authorized edition of the classic work on parliamentary procedure--now in a new updated edition Robert's Rules of Order is the recognized guide to smooth, orderly, and fairly conducted meetings. This 12th edition is the only current manual to have been maintained and updated since 1876 under the continuing program established by General Henry M. Robert himself. As indispensable now as the original edition was more than a century ago, Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised is the acknowledged "gold standard" for meeting rules. New and enhanced features of this edition include: Section-based paragraph numbering to facilitate cross-references and e-book compatibility Expanded appendix of charts, tables, and lists Helpful summary explanations about postponing a motion, reconsidering a vote, making and enforcing points of order and appeals, and newly expanded procedures for filling blanks New provisions regarding debate on nominations, reopening nominations, and completing an election after its scheduled time Dozens more clarifications, additions, and refinements to improve the presentation of existing rules, incorporate new interpretations, and address common inquiries Coinciding with publication of the 12th edition, the authors of this manual have once again published an updated (3rd) edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief, a simple and concise introductory guide cross-referenced to it.
Download or read book E tabling of Written Questions written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Procedure Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-12-18 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 13 October 2011 the House agreed to a 3-month experiment with restrictions on the number of questions which could be tabled electronically on any one day and an earlier deadline for their submission. The Table Office has provided us with a memorandum assessing the impact of those changes, and recommending that the experiment be made permanent.
Download or read book Explanatory Statements on Amendments written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Procedure Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-02-25 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this report the Procedure Committee invites the House to expand the tabling of explanatory statements on amendments to all bills at both Committee and Report stage from the start of the 2013-14 Session. Explanatory statements enhance MPs' ability to scrutinise legislation, unpacking complex or technical amendments and so opening up the legislative process to the wider public, as well as providing greater focus for Members' arguments during debates. There have been several previous pilots of explanatory statements. During the current session, MPs have been permitted to table explanatory statements to two bills. Having evaluated the pilot on the basis of criteria agreed between the Committee and the Leader of the House, the Committee concludes that the time has come to end the experimental approach and allow the culture of explanatory statements to embed itself, in a permissive environment where space is provided to backbench Members, the Government and the Opposition to ensure that explanatory statements become an accepted norm of the legislative process. The Committee considered the possibility of imposing a mandatory requirement at some or all stages, but concluded that to do so would risk restricting Opposition and backbench MPs from tabling amendments and would therefore be damaging to the House's ability to scrutinise legislation.
Download or read book Text Cases and Materials on Public Law and Human Rights written by Helen Fenwick and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-12-14 with total page 1060 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book interweaves an authoritative authorial commentary – significantly expanded from the last edition - with extracts from a diverse and contemporary collection of cases and materials from three leading academics in the field. It provides an all-encompassing student guide to constitutional, administrative and UK human rights law. This fourth edition provides comprehensive coverage of all recent developments, including the Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011, restrictions on judicial review (Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015), changes to judicial appointments (Crime and Courts Act 2013), the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum, Scotland Act 2016 and draft Wales Bill 2016. Recent devolution cases in the Supreme Court, including Imperial Tobacco (2012) and Asbestos Diseases (2015) are fully analysed, as is the 2015 introduction of English Votes for English Laws. The remarkable Evans (2015) ‘Black Spider memos’ case is considered in a number of chapters. The common law rights resurgence seen in Osborn (2013), BBC (2014) and Kennedy (2014) is analysed in several places, along with other key developments in judicial review such as Keyu (2015) and Pham (2015). Ongoing parliamentary reform in both Lords and Commons, including major advances in controlling prerogative powers, are fully explained, as is the adaptation of the core Executive to Coalition Government (2010-2015). There is comprehensive coverage of key Strasbourg and HRA cases (Horncastle (2010), Nicklinson (2014), Moohan (2014), Carlile (2014)), and those in core areas of freedom of expression, police powers and public order (Animal Defenders (2013), Beghal (2015), Roberts (2015), Miranda (2016)) and the prisoners’ voting rights saga, up to Chester (2015).
Download or read book Sessional Returns written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-09-14 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees
