Making British Law Committees in Action
Laws are essential to the lives of all British citizens and crucial to the survival of British Governments. This book follows the work of House of Commons bill committees as they scrutinise legislation and reveals the hidden depths of law making in the Br
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Making British Law Committees in Action Louise Thompson Lecturer in British Politics, Department of Politics, University of Surrey, UK
© Louise Thompson 2015 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-56537-5 ISBN 978-1-137-41066-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137410665
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
For Percy and Alba
Contents
List of Figures
x
List of Tables
xi
Preface and Acknowledgements
xii
1
Introduction Discredited scrutiny Understudied and overshadowed Why should we care about committee work? Aims and structure of this book
1 2 3 6 7
2
The Role and Function of Bill Committees Committees and the legislative process Moving upstairs Purpose Sittings and membership Committee procedure Programming Evidence taking Beyond scrutiny Limitations and opportunities
10 11 15 16 16 19 23 25 27 29
3
The History and Development of Bill Committees Gladstone introduces standing committees A watershed moment Select committees and Special Standing Committees Attempts at programming Post-1997 reforms The 2006 reforms An end to standing committees Introduction of evidence taking Public reading stage From efficient to effective committees?
31 32 34 36 37 38 39 40 41 43 44
vii
viii Contents
4
Measuring Committee Impact Measuring parliamentary impact The viscosity of the process Measuring committee impact Formal indicators of viscosity in committee How many bills are amended? How many amendments are
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