Evaluate the view that Parliament is effective in carrying out its functions

intro

Parliament is the assembly that has the power to debate and make laws. Some may argue that Parliament is effective in carrying out its functions due to scrutinising the work of the government, representation through debates and putting forward and legislation. However some may argue that Parliament is not effective in carrying out its functions because scrutinising government can be avoided due to Prime Minister Question Time, the lack of representation , and is not always successful in delivering legislation due to the internal debates between HoC and HoL. Therefore, Parliament is not effective in carrying out its functions

PARA1: Scrutiny through committees

this means

. This means that committees such as select committees can scrutinise the work of the government, and parliament can require an explanation from the minister of their performance, decisions and actions in relation to administration. This suggests that committees can hold the government to account and scrutinise the policies and actions of the government through conducting detailed examinations of controversial issues, meaning that they can effectively scrutinise government s they ensure that their reports are detailed and that government doesn't abuse the privileges that they are given to ensure that it is fair

example

. For example, the Home Affairs Committee inquiry (2017-18) into the Windrush scandal questioned the home secretary Amber Rudd, who denied that the Home Office had targets for the deportation of illegal immigrants. When leaked emails revealed that targets existed, she resigned due to knowing and the committees report was highly critical of government policy.

analysis1

This means that they can be highly influential as they decide which issues that they are going to examine, meaning that they were able to hold the government to account for their actions. This suggests that they have fulfilled their function as it was a matter of public concern, meaning that the action of Amber Rudd was highly criticised.

counter1: parliamentary committees power uncertain in practice

this means that

This means that even though they have the right to ask questions, they have no power to propose policy and the government can ignore recommendations made by select committees. This means that as Sir Lindsey Hoyle has acknowledged in 2021 that he would be happy if the UK government would respond to select committees as Johnson had chosen to give his statement regarding the Uk government decisions not to relax all coronavirus restrictions on June 21 at a press briefing rather than in the HoC. This means that the work of the select committees is limited as they can be rejected or simply ignored

example

. In addition in 2018, government was accused of ignoring select committee recommendations in final Heathrow expansion policy. This hinders the effectiveness of the scrutiny as they only hold so much power to do anything, meaning government can continue doing what they want, even though government has to respond to their reports

mini conc

Therefore, Parliament is not effective in carrying out its work of scrutinising government as select committees recommendations are often ignored and they have no power to propose policy, despite the 'requiring' and explanation.

para2: debate

This means

This means that Mps are able to express their views and try to influence policy through debating, meaning that Mps who undertake scrutiny do so in their capacity as the democratically elected representatives. This suggests that during debate, MP's have a role to ensure that theya re representing their constituents, meaning they would ensure policies that would go through would have the interests of the citizens. This means that through debating, the MPs are able to hold the government to account If they are unhappy with the government's decision

example

Through the Backbench Business Committee (BBBC) which was created in 2010, it gives the MP's greater opportunity to shape the parliamentary agenda and the Petitions Committee 2015 the responsibility for considering public e-petitions for debate in parliament. For example a petition calling for Article 50 to be revoked attracted more than 6 million signatures, meaning it is a successful vehicle for public engagement with parliament, and provides representation for the citizens. This means that it allocates time for debate of topics receiving 100,000 signatures in an e-petition, showing how effective parliament's function of debate and representation is as citizens are able to have more of a say due to the government forced to debate the issue at hand.

Furthermore

Furthermore, through PMQT it means that there are questions given by the opposition, causing the government agenda to be swayed and ensure that accountability is held as a result.

counter2: parliament isnt effective as it can be undermined by politicians

this means..

This means that it may undermine the effectiveness of debates as it may only be used for personal gain to ensure their constituents are happy, therefore they are able to keep their position, so that they would be able to win the next General Election as they would see it as part of the constituents interests. This means that despite the BBBC providing debates for the government, the government does not have to respond to, or accept the motions passed after debated scheduled by the BBBC, meaning that it can easily avoid putting legislation on debates that do not help with their political stance.

example

For example, a petition on child hunger led by footballer Marcus Rashford was signed by 1.1 million people, however, the government's response from previous Education Secretary Gavin Williamson showed a "lack of empathy towards protecting our most vulnerable", and despite saying that they were committed, they did not fully back his Child Food Poverty taskforce, suggesting that they lack effectiveness to ensure that Parliaments debates are adhered to therefore only represents a small proportion of society, those who are not on FSM,

analysis

This suggest that Parliament is not effective in carrying out its function due to the government allocating time for BBBC debates at a short notice and in an ad hoc way, meaning they would not have to have accountability.

mini conc

Therefore, Parliament is not effective in carrying out its function of debate and representation because the government can simply choose a time that it most convenient to them to avoid the issue being handled at large, and it does not have to respond to the motions passed after the debate, showing the lack of effectiveness.

PARA3: legislation as they re able to scrutinise the executive

this means

This means that in times when the HoC can offer effective legislative scrutiny, usually when the issue is very controversial or is so important that the MPs are prepared to defy the whip.

example

For example, whilst in a confidence and supply agreement with the DUP in January 2019, May's Brexit deal was defeated by a record of 230 votes with 118 conservative MPs rebelling. This shows that dependent on the issue and the size of the government's majority, the power of the whips can weaken. This means that Parliament is effective in carrying out its function as in the HoL, they can further provide effective scrutiny because of the time, expertise and independence it puts towards legislation as they go through process where they can add reasoned amendments

example2

. For example, the Agriculture Act 2020, was considered for 32 hours by the Hoc but for 96 hours by the HoL, showing that they do not jump to pass the legislation if they presume that it would not fit in the interests of the country

in addition

In addition to this, unlike the Hoc, the Lords are not heavily whipped meaning that there is more independence and a collegiate atmosphere in the HoL which is helped by the fact that there are 184 crossbench peers and 26 bishops who do not belong to a political party, meaning that parliament is effective in carrying out its legislative function as not only can they scrutinise the government's bills, but they also go through the legislative process, where they process the bills and if it does not suit, it goes back to a second reading.

counter: not effective carrying out its legislative function

under..

Under the Standing Order 14, the legislative agenda is largely controlled by the executive as most bills are government bills, with 76.(% of bills from 2015-21 being tabled by the executive.

SL

This dominance over the Commons agenda is reinforced by the notion of elective dictatorship due to the First Past the Post voting systems, most governments have clear majority and can govern as they please without having to worry about undergoing effective scrutiny

example

For example, Tony Blair has a majority of 179 and did not lose a single commons vote in his first 8 years as PM, meaning that the executive is normally capable of pushing through its agenda because it consistently has the majority on its side. In addition, MPs are very heavily whipped meaning that they rarely rebel against their party leaders as they are beholden to their party for their seat and they rely on the patronage of party leaders for personal advancement.

this is shown..

This is shown through the 2019 General Election as there are 321 MPs who have never voted against their own party. This means that Parliament not effective in carrying out its legislative function because due to the government's majorities and heavy whipping of backbenchers means that legislative scrutiny in the HoC is ineffective

furthermore

. Furthermore, the fact that Parliament Acts mean that the HoL cannot block legislation for the Commons while conventions like Salisbury Convention and Financial privilege limit the power of the House of lords to effectively scrutinise the governments legislation.

mini conc

Therefore, Parliament is not effective in carrying outs its functions as it is restricted by acts, meaning that government can still continue with financial bills, and due to the heavy support for the party, it means it is often difficult for Parliament to scrutinise the government's legislation.

conc

Ultimately, Parliament is not effective in carrying out its functions. Although it has been able to carry out its functions, due to the powers of parliament being limited, it means that they are limited to the extent that they can intervene, therefore are not as effective. This means that although there have been developments through select committees which means that they hold accountability for their actions, the government can simply ignore the recommendations given, with debates, they may do it for their own interests instead of their constituencies, meaning that many e-petitions are done at times where they are not highly criticised by the media. Through legislation, parliament is restricted due to the majority as a result of the FPTP system, meaning they cannot intercept as easily and there is a lack of scrutiny as a result.