A report by a committee of MPs said that Parliamentary scrutiny of Bills should be more open to MPs, the general public, lobby groups, representative organizations, and other stakeholders.
Source: The Legislative Process, First Report (Session 2005-06), HC 1097, House of Commons Modernisation Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Sep
A report said that parliament could improve its scrutiny of public finances. Parliamentary committees should make greater use of the time between the pre-Budget report and the main Budget to take evidence on the government s plans and feed its recommendations back to government; and parliament should become fully involved in the process leading up to the 2007 comprehensive spending review.
Source: Alex Brazier and Vidya Ram, The Fiscal Maze: Parliament, government and public money, Hansard Society (020 7955 7459)
Links: Hansard Society press release
Date: 2006-Jul
A think-tank report said that the House of Lords should be reformed on a regional basis through a local government electoral college, to make it more accountable to the public.
Source: Chris Leslie, Lords Reform for a Purpose: Power to the many, not the few, New Local Government Network (020 7357 0051)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jun
A report by a committee of MPs said that three all-party parliamentary groups - those on intellectual property, patient safety, and pharmacy - had breached the rules requiring disclosure where such groups obtained secretariat services from a public-relations company.
Source: Lobbying and All Party Groups, Ninth Report (Session 2005-06), HC 1145, House of Commons Standards and Privileges Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-May
An article examined the justifications for affirmative action to increase women's political representation, asking what set this apart from other contexts in which women were under-represented.
Source: Aileen McHarg, 'Quotas for women! The Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002', Journal of Law and Society, Volume 33 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2006-Mar
A briefing paper looked at the position of the House of Lords in 2005. It suggested that the chamber was becoming more confident and assertive, despite its unelected basis.
Source: Meg Russell and Maria Sciara, The House of Lords in 2005: A more representative and assertive chamber, Constitution Unit/University of London, available from Imprint Academic (01392 841600)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Feb
The Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill was given a second reading. The Bill was designed to place the Civil Service Code of impartiality and professionalism on a statutory footing, and make any change to the Code subject to Parliamentary approval; remove the hereditary principle from the House of Lords, and allow for the disqualification of peers found guilty of serious criminal offences; repeal the legislation that limited protests around Parliament; and remove the Prime Minister from involvement in all judicial appointments in England and Wales.
Source: Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill, Ministry of Justice, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 20 October 2009, columns 799-878, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | MOJ press release
Date: 2006-Jan
A report said that almost one-third (32 per cent) of MPs had attended private schools, which educated just 7 per cent of the population.
Source: The Educational Backgrounds of Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, Sutton Trust (020 8788 3223)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Jan
A think-tank report said that changes to the United Kingdom's constitution since 1997 had damaged the accountability of parliament to the voters, parliament's powers to hold the government to account, and the independence of judges.
Source: Martin Howe, ABC: A Balanced Constitution for the 21st Century, Politeia (020 7240 5070)
Links: Summary
Date: 2006-Jan