What does the decision to leave the EU mean for Parliament? What role will MPs and Peers want in relation to the exit negotiations and what will it mean for the legislative and scrutiny process?
Paul EvansClerk of the Journals, House of Commons
Seema Malhotra MPMember for Feltham and Heston
Professor the Lord Norton of LouthMember of the House of Lords Constitution Committee and Professor of Government and Director of the Centre for Legislative Studies, University of Hull
At this event, involving leading parliamentary and constitutional experts, we will be debating the key questions now facing Parliament over the next few years:
What reforms – in the Chamber and Committees – might be needed to ensure the scrutiny process is fit for purpose to deal with the scale of the challenge ahead?
Should there be a move towards greater joint working with the House of Lords? What are the pros and cons of this approach?
Do we need a super-committee, for example modelled on the Banking Commission inquiry?
Given the volume of legislation and regulation that will need to be sorted out, how might this be done most effectively?
Does Parliament have sufficient capacity and expertise to support MPs and Peers and if not, what might be needed?
In our latest ‘Whipping Yarn’, we talk with Simon Hart, former Conservative Chief Whip during Rishi Sunak’s Premiership. Hart opens up about his time in one of Westminster’s most demanding and discreet roles, chronicled in his new book, ‘Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip’.
If a crisis or major national event occurs during a period when Parliament is adjourned, there are often demands from MPs, the media and the public for Parliament to be ‘recalled’. But the House of Commons Standing Orders stipulate that only Government Ministers - in reality, the Prime Minister - can ask the Speaker to recall the House. In recent years the House of Lords has generally been recalled at the same time as the House of Commons.
In response to the Modernisation Committee's call for views on 17 October 2024, we submitted evidence outlining key areas we believe the Committee should prioritise. Our submission recommended a focus on: strengthening legislative scrutiny, with particular emphasis on reforming the delegated legislation system; enhancing financial scrutiny, especially in relation to the Budget and the Estimates; addressing strategic gaps in parliamentary scrutiny; making more effective use of parliamentary time; and reviewing the Standing Orders, language and rituals of the House of Commons.
This briefing explains what to watch for during the Second Reading debate of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 29 November. It outlines the procedural and legislative issues that will come into play: the role of the Chair in managing the debate and how procedures such as the 'closure' and 'reasoned amendments' work. It looks ahead to the Committee and Report stage procedures that will apply if the Bill progresses beyond Second Reading. It also examines the government's responsibilities, such as providing a money resolution for the Bill and preparing an Impact Assessment, while addressing broader concerns about the adequacy of Private Members’ Bill procedures for scrutinising controversial issues.
In this ninth instalment of our special mini-podcast series, we continue to explore the latest developments in the progress of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, often referred to as the assisted dying bill. We are joined by Dr Marie Tidball MP to discuss the amendments she has secured for a Disability Advisory Board and an independent advocate for people with learning disabilities.
