Parliament (1): The Commons and Lords

According to George Bernard Shaw: "Alcohol is a very necessary article.......It enables Parliament to do things at eleven at night that no sane person would do at eleven in the morning.' So what is it that Parliamentarians do at eleven at night - or even in the morning? UKTECH offers an in-depth look at Parliamentary procedures and its workings.

Nowadays, small businesses have become increasingly familiar with the legislative procedures which have a real effect on the way they operate their day-to-day businesses. But do you know the difference between a Bill and an Act; a Green Paper and a White Paper; a starred and an unstarred question; a PQ, a PMQ or a UQ?

In the first of a series of articles about Parliamentary procedure, UKTECH looks at the role of the House of Commons and the House of Lords and some of its officials; and provides answers to the questions about 'questions'.

Introduction

The UK Parliament is based on a two-chamber system. The House of Commons and the House of Lords sit separately and are constituted on different principles. On one side of the Palace of Westminster is the Lords - the grander-looking of the two chambers and dominated by the colour red for its furnishings and fabrics - no doubt a throw-back to the use of red by Kings as a royal colour.

On the other side of the building, the Commons is a plainer chamber and dominated by a drab green colour, the origins of which are lost in time, though one theory is simply that green was the cheapest and most easily available dye 300 years ago.

Though the legislative process involves both Houses, each acting as a check and balance on the other, they do not refer to each other by name - merely as 'the other place'.

The main functions of Parliament are to:

• legislate;


• provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on government;


• protect the public and safeguard the rights of individuals;


• scrutinise government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure;


• examine European proposals before they become law;


• hear appeals in the House of Lords, the highest Court of Appeal in Britain;


• debate the major issues of the day.

Parliament has a maximum duration of five years. At any time up to the end of this period, a general election can be held for a new House of Commons.

House of Commons

House of CommonsThe House of Commons is traditionally known as the Lower House, but it is the main arena for political battle. A Government can only remain in office for as long as it has the support of a majority in the Commons. Both Houses debate new legislation, usually Bills, as part of the process of approving an Act of Parliament, but the Commons has primacy over the non-elected House of Lords.

"Money Bills" (e.g. a Finance Bill which implements the Budget), concerned solely with taxation and public expenditure, are always introduced in the Commons and must be passed by the Lords promptly and without amendment. When the two Houses fail to agree on a non-money Bill, the Parliament Acts can be invoked to ensure that the will of the elected chamber prevails.

Ministerial Statements

Most Cabinet Ministers are members of the House of Commons (two current exceptions are the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney General). Significant announcements are made in the Commons, normally by the relevant Cabinet Minister, or in certain cases by the Prime Minister, and these are known as Ministerial statements (mainly these tend to be details of new legislative proposals e.g. publication of a White Paper; details of a military deployment e.g. troops to Afghanistan – February '06; or information about a major event e.g. EU Summit, public order incident or major transport incident).

They are followed by a short debate which the Speaker will allow to run on dependent on the seriousness of the subject matter of the Statement and level of interest among MPs. They take place immediately after Question Time. Major Statements are repeated in the Lords.

The Speaker

The Speaker is an MP who is elected to act as Chairman during proceedings in the main Chamber. Once elected as Speaker the individual ceases to be involved in party politics. He/she is responsible for ensuring that the rules of the House are observed as business is carried out, calling MPs to speak and maintaining order in the House ("Order, Order"). The current speaker is Michael Martin MP, who has three deputies to assist him.

Sitting hours

The average number of Commons sitting days a year is about 155. The sitting hours are:

• Monday: 2.30pm to 10.00pm


• Tuesday: 2.30 to 10.00pm


• Wednesday: 11.30am to 7.00pm


• Thursday: 10.30am to 6.00pm


• Friday (selected dates only) 9.30am to 2.30pm

The House also meets for debates (non legislative) in Westminster Hall, Tuesday to Thursday. These sessions are designed to give backbenchers more time to debate issues which cannot find space in the crowded schedule of the Chamber.

There are 646 MPs, of whom 126 are women. The Father of the House (longest serving MP) is Alan Williams.

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the second chamber of the Houses of Parliament. Members of the House (known as peers) consist of Lords Spiritual (senior bishops - 26) and Lords Temporal (lay peers). Law Lords (senior judges) also sit as Lords Temporal.

Membership

Members of the Lords are not elected and, with the exception of bishops who leave the House on retirement, retain their seats for life. They are not paid, i.e. they do not receive a salary except for a small number of members who are salaried by virtue of the office they hold. They can be reimbursed for travel, subsistence and secretarial costs which they may incur in connection with their parliamentary duties in attending either a sitting of the House or a meeting of a Committee of the House.

House of LordsFollowing the House of Lords Act 1999, there are only 92 peers who sit by virtue of hereditary peerage. The majority of members are now life peers and the Government has been consulting on proposals for further reform of the Lords. As of December 2005, there were 733 peers in total. About two thirds of them align themselves to a political party. A distinctive feature is the presence of crossbench peers who are not affiliated to any party.

The Lords is also the final Court of Appeal for civil cases in the UK and for criminal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Only the Lords of Appeal (Law Lords) of whom there are 12 employed full-time, take part in the judicial proceedings. When the new Supreme Court comes into operation, the Law Lords will be removed from the legislature. The first sitting will take place in 2008 and its location will be in the Middlesex Guildhall, Parliament Square.

In general the functions of the Lords are similar to the Commons in legislating, debating and questioning the Executive (i.e. the Government). There are two exceptions: members of the Lords do not represent constituencies, and are not involved in matters of taxation and finance.

The Speakership

The Speakership of the Lords is performed by the Lord Chancellor. His powers as Speaker are much more limited than those of the Speaker in the Commons. The Government has indicated that the Lords should be able to elect its own Speaker. No timetable has been set for this change, but a committee of the House is currently considering how this might be implemented.

Sitting hours

The average number of sitting hours of the House of Lords is about 160 days a year. The sitting hours are:

• Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2.30pm


• Thursdays from 11.00am


• Selected Fridays from 11.00am

The Lords usually sits until 10.00pm to 11.00pm.

The Whip System

Whips are MPs or Peers appointed by each party to maintain party discipline, and have an important role to play in party business within Parliament. Part of their role is to maximise the turnout and ensure party members vote in support of their leadership.

Their role received attention when the Government was defeated in a vote in the Commons on the Race and Religious Hatred Bill (February 2006).

Whips also manage the pairing system (i.e. the system under which a member of the Government party is matched with a member from the main Opposition party and they agree between them what they will do on particular votes – this only exists in the Commons. In practice it means they will both agree not to turn up for a particular vote). Whips also often act as tellers during divisions (i.e. votes).

The term 'whip' is also applied to the weekly circular sent out by each Chief Whip to all their MPs or peers notifying them of parliamentary business. The degree of importance for each item of business is indicated by the number of times that the debate or division is underlined:

• items underlined once are considered routine and attendance is optional;


• those underlined twice are more important and attendance is required unless a pair has been arranged;


• items underlined three times (i.e. a three line whip) are highly important and members must turn up to vote.

It is a very serious matter for members to defy a three line whip and happens rarely. Disciplinary action against the individuals concerned often follows, which ultimately can lead to the party Whip being withdrawn from the member. Withdrawal of the Whip is effectively expulsion from the party, but in all but the most very serious cases this is normally only temporary.

In the Commons the party Whips consist of the Chief Whip, deputy Chief Whip and a varying number of junior Whips – each one normally assigned to take an interest in one or more of the main government departments. The Chief Whips together (i.e. of the Government and Opposition parties) are known as the 'usual channels', often referred to when the question of finding time to debate a particular is discussed.

Party discipline in the Lords tends to be less strong, and the Whips are less exclusively concerned with party matters. However, they still strive to achieve maximum support for the party leadership in the voting lobbies. There is no pairing system in the Lords.

The Order Paper

The Order Paper in the Commons is published each sitting day and lists the business of the House and for sittings in Westminster Hall. It also lists Parliamentary Questions (PQs) for oral and written answer to be asked that day, PQs for written answer that day which have not previously appeared in print, and certain other items such as notices of written statements, committee notices and lists of future business.

The House of Lords proceeds with the business of each day according to the Order Paper and therefore will include oral questions (known as Starred questions in the Lords), public bills for debate, Unstarred questions (Lords terminology for short debates), motions on reports from Committees etc.

Parliamentary Questions

Parliamentary Questions (PQs) are a means by which backbench MPs can seek information or press for action from the Government. There are three categories of question in the House of Commons:

• Questions for Oral Answer (Oral Questions or Question Time)


• Urgent Questions (UQs)


• Questions for Written Answer

Around 40,000 questions are asked each year, of which around 3,000 are oral questions answered by a Minister in the Chamber. An MP "tables" i.e. gives notice of, a question by handing it or sending it to the Clerks in the Table Office. All questions (and answers) appear in Hansard - the official record of proceedings of Parliament.

Oral Questions

Question Time takes place in the Commons at 2.30pm on Mondays and Tuesdays; 11.30am on Wednesdays and 10.30am on Thursdays. Departments answer Oral Questions once every four weeks, when it is their turn to field their team of Ministers for on-the-spot interrogation.

For major departments it lasts about an hour, smaller departments are allocated shorter periods. Any Oral Question that has not been reached by the end of the time allotted receives a written answer.

For an oral PQ, an MP, of any Party, can submit an opening question and then ask a supplementary - often making a political point. Other MPs can also 'join in' to ask the Minister a related question. The civil service provide briefing for Ministers on the subjects to be covered. A typical exchange - on inheritance tax - is:

Mr. Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con): What the total cost was of administering inheritance tax in each of the last five years; and what the estimated cost is for 2006-07?

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Stephen Timms): The cost of collecting each pound of inheritance tax was 1.23p in 2000-01, 1.21p in 2001-02, 1.38p in 2002-03, 1.21p in 2003-04 and 1.14p in 2004-05, the most recent year for which figures are available. I do not expect a big change in the current year.

Mr. Bone: Why will not the Government scrap this morally indefensible tax?

Mr. Timms: Because it is morally the right tax. Only 6 per cent. of estates paid inheritance tax last year. The zero threshold is £285,000 this year, rising to £325,000 in 2009-10. All wealth passed to spouses or civil partners is tax free. It is right to apply tax in that way and we will continue to do so. If the hon. Gentleman is suggesting that it should be abolished, he needs to explain where the money would come from.

Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Lab): Does my hon. Friend agree that any party that claims to be concerned about equal opportunities must have a fair inheritance tax regime?

Mr. Timms: I do agree; my hon. Friend is right. I expect inheritance tax to raise £3.6 billion this year. The Conservative party needs to identify the spending that would be cut or the taxes that would be raised to fill the gap.

The Hon. Gentleman or Lady is a member of the Opposition; my Hon. Friend is an MP from his or her own Party.

Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs)

The Prime Minister answers oral questions at 12.00 every Wednesday for 30 minutes. If the PM is away, he is deputised for by the Deputy PM or the Leader of the House.

Urgent Questions (UQ)

These arise when an MP wishes to raise something urgently with a Minister, often because the matter, or event, has arisen suddenly. In order to ask a UQ, an MP must apply to the Speaker before noon on Monday or Tuesday, 10.30am on Wednesday, 9.30am on Thursday or 10.00am on a sitting Friday. The Department involved is informed immediately a UQ is tabled.

The decision as to whether to allow the UQ is one for the Speaker. Where allowed, UQs are taken immediately after Oral Questions, or at 11.00 on a Friday. In practice they are like a mini debate, but normally last no more than an hour, and frequently less than that.

Written Questions

There are three types of written question:

• questions originally tabled for oral answer which were not reached at Question Time;
  
• Ordinary – questions which do not have a specific date by which they have to be answered. The convention is that an MP can expect an answer within seven days of the question being tabled;


• Named day – these questions must receive an answer on the date specified by the MP, though that must be a minimum of two days.

Within all government departments the task of answering PQs is given high priority and total accuracy is a must. Departments can refuse to answer a written question if the costs incurred would be above a certain amount. The current level is £600.

Written Ministerial Statements (WMS)

Prior to the 2002-03 Parliamentary Session, there was a category of question known as an "inspired" question. These were written questions tabled for answer the next day by a backbencher encouraged to do so by the Government to enable the Government to make an announcement (i.e. 'planted' questions).

Such announcements would not be too major, otherwise they would have been made by a Ministerial (oral) Statement. "Inspired" questions have been replaced by Written Ministerial Statements (WMS).

The next article in the series will look at the Parliamentary process legislation must pass through to become law.