A fresh perspective on an ancient institution; Exploring Parliament offers an engaging and real-life insight into the inner workings, impact, and relevance of twenty-first century Parliament. Short academic and practitioner chapters are combined with highly relevant and practical case studies, to provide a new and accessible introduction to Parliament's structures, people, and practices. As well as covering the broader structure of UK Parliament, this text explains the role of small parties in law making, the design and space of Parliament, and offers illuminating case studies on highly topical areas such as the Backbench Business Committee, the Hillsborough Inquiry and recent pieces of legislation such as the Assisted Dying Bill. This text is complemented by the following online resources for students and lecturers: - Video tours of Parliament - Podcasts to explain and explore the work of Parliament - Web links to help students to explore Parliament even further

This Command Paper from the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons sets out a process for post-legislative scrutiny by the Government. The main proposal is that after 3 years any law that has been passed will undergo a review by the relevant Government Department and then Parliament to see how effective the law has been. The publication also includes an appendix with a detailed response to the Law Commission's report on Post-legislative scrutiny (Cm. 6945, ISBN 9780101694520).

The Labour government elected in 1997 pledged to reform the Westminster parliament by modernising the House of Commons and removing the hereditary peers from the House of Lords. Events have consequently demonstrated the deep controversy that accompanies such attempts at institutional reconfiguration, and have highlighted the shifting fault lines in executive-legislative relations in the UK, as well as the deep complexities surrounding British constitutional politics. The story of parliamentary reform is about the nature of the British political system, about how the government seeks to expand its control over parliament, and about how parliament discharges its duty to scrutinise the executive and hold it to account. This book, available in paperback for the first time, charts the course of Westminster reform since 1997, but does so by placing it in the context of parliamentary reform pursued in the past, and thus adopts a historical perspective which lends it considerable analytical value. Significantly, the book examines parliamentary reform through the lens of institutional theory, in order not only to describe reform but also to interpret and explain it. It also draws on extensive interviews conducted with MPs and peers involved in the reform of parliament since 1997, thus offering a unique insight into how these political actors perceived the reform process in which they played a part. Parliamentary reform at Westminster, now available in paperback, provides a comprehensive and authoritative analysis of the trajectory and outcome of the reform of parliament, along with an incisive interpretation of the implications for our understanding of British politics.

Parliament and the legislative Process : 14th report of session 2003-04, Vol. 2: Evidence

Following on from previous reports published in 1990 and 1999, this publication examines how the services to support the institution of the House of Commons and MPs are governed, managed and delivered. The objective of the report has been to respect the status and character of the House and to preserve the special qualities of the House Service, while seeking to build organisational and executive capacity and to promote effectiveness, accountability and value for money. Amongst the 56 conclusions and recommendations made, the report seeks to highlight the importance of an independent audit facility, including placing the chairmanship of the Audit Committee in the hands of an external Committee member and instituting a rolling programme of NAO value-for-money audits. It also recommends a revamped role for the Office for the Chief Executive, with responsibility for strategic planning; strengthening the position of the Finance and Services Committee to improve scrutiny of spending proposals and to support the governing role of the Commission; a centralised and professional human resources team to develop the House staff as a collective resource and to overcome the inefficiencies of the present personnel structure; and the creation of further joint Departments between the two Houses in the interests of reducing overhead costs and general efficiency.