A briefing paper examined likely political trends and priorities in the European Union in 2011 and 2012. The financial and economic crisis had the potential to undermine multi-level European governance arrangements by amplifying contradictions and divergences between national and European institutions, interest groups, and concerns. The crisis was already jeopardizing social cohesion within the member states.
Source: Rosa Balfour, Janis Emmanouilidis and Fabian Zuleeg, Political Trends and Priorities 2011-2012, European Policy Centre
Links: Paper
Date: 2010-Dec
The government announced a series of new principles that it would use when introducing European measures into United Kingdom law, designed to end 'gold-plating'. The text of European directives would in future be copied directly into UK law without further interpretation. Early transposition of European regulations would be avoided except where there were compelling reasons for earlier implementation. A statutory duty would be placed on Ministers to conduct a review of domestic legislation implementing a European directive every five years.
Source: Written Ministerial Statement 15 December 2010, column 99WS, House of Commons Hansard/TSO
Links: Hansard | Guiding principles | TUC press release
Date: 2010-Dec
The European Union Bill was given a second reading. The Bill was designed to strengthen United Kingdom procedures for agreeing to, or ratifying, certain European Union decisions and treaty changes. It provided for a UK referendum on any proposed EU treaty or treaty change that would transfer powers from the UK to the EU.
Source: European Union Bill, Foreign and Commonwealth Office/TSO | Debate 7 December 2010, columns 191-277, House of Commons Hansard/TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard | HOC research brief
Date: 2010-Dec
A paper examined the available literature on the social 'open method of co-ordination' (OMC) in the European Union between 2006 and 2010. The linkage between knowledge of an issue and direct use of the OMC for policy change in social policy was 'weak'.
Source: Caroline de la Porte, State of the Art: Overview of concepts, indicators and methodologies used for analyzing the social OMC, REC-WP 15/2010, Reconciling Work and Welfare in Europe/Edinburgh University
Links: Paper
Notes: The open method of co-ordination (OMC) is an intergovernmental means of governance in the European Union, based on the voluntary co-operation of member states rather than the application of legislative measures.
Date: 2010-Dec
A new book (in four volumes) examined the 'public sphere' – the space where citizens came together to deliberate on issues of common concern and to 'critique' and influence the government.
Source: Jostein Gripsrud, Hallvard Moe, Anders Molander and Graham Murdock (eds.), The Public Sphere, SAGE Publications
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-Dec
A report by a committee of MPs examined the legal relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, and whether a statutory provision was necessary (as proposed in the European Union Bill) in order to shield the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty from EU law. It said that the evidence received suggested that the legislative supremacy of Parliament was not under threat from EU law.
Source: The EU Bill and Parliamentary Sovereignty, Tenth Report (Session 2010-11), HC 633, House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee/TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Dec
A paper examined various approaches to the question of how much United Kingdom law was based on or influenced by European Union law. Data suggested that, from 1997 to 2009, 6.8 per cent of primary legislation and 14.1 per cent of secondary legislation had a role in implementing European Union obligations – although the degree of involvement varied from passing reference to explicit implementation.
Source: Vaughne Miller, How Much Legislation Comes from Europe?, Research Paper 10/62, House of Commons Library
Links: HOC Library research paper
Date: 2010-Oct
The new coalition government published a draft plan setting out a timescale for delivering reform in the areas of: parliamentary democracy and political reform; devolution, decentralization, accountability, and localism; and civil liberties.
Source: Political Reform: Draft Structural Reform Plan, Cabinet Office
Links: Plan | Inside Housing report
Date: 2010-Jul
An audit report said that impact assessments (used to assess the need for, and the likely impact of, proposed government policy interventions) did not yet consistently provide a sound basis for assessing the relative merits of different policy proposals. Further improvement in the quality and use of impact assessments was needed in order to achieve value for money.
Source: Assessing the Impact of Proposed New Policies, HC 185 (Session 2010-11), National Audit Office/TSO
Links: Report | NAO press release
Date: 2010-Jul
Government departments published their responses to comments made by the public on the new coalition government s programme.
Source: Press release 30 July 2010, Downing Street
Links: Downing Street press release | Departmental responses (links) | BBC report
Date: 2010-Jul
An article examined the attitudes of peers (members of the House of Lords) to social policy issues, including a comparison with the views of Members of Parliament (House of Commons).
Source: Hugh Bochel and Andrew Defty, 'Power without representation? The House of Lords and social policy', Social Policy and Society, Volume 9 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Jul
A new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government was formed following the failure of any party to win a parliamentary majority in the general election on 6 May 2010. The government announced (in the Queen's Speech) plans for legislation in a wide range of areas including:
• A Bill to establish an Office for Budget Responsibility, which would assess the long-term sustainability of the public finances.
• A Welfare Reform Bill, designed to simplify the benefits system, remove barriers to moving from benefits to work, reduce the scope for fraud and error, and reduce unnecessary administration.
• A Pensions and Savings Bill, designed to restore the link between earnings and the basic state pension, and (depending on the outcome of a review) implement a revised timetable for increasing the state pension age.
• An Energy Security and Green Economy Bill, designed to deliver a national programme of energy efficiency measures to homes and businesses.
• An Academies Bill, designed to enable more schools in England to become academies – including removing the requirement to consult the relevant local education authority before opening an academy.
An Education and Children's Bill, designed to give all schools in England greater freedom over the curriculum, reform the schools inspectorate and other accountability frameworks to ensure that head teachers were held accountable for core educational goals, and introduce a 'pupil premium' so that funding followed pupils from the lowest-income groups.
• A Health Bill, designed to establish an independent National Health Service Board, strengthen the role of the Care Quality Commission and Monitor, and cut the cost of NHS administration by one-third.
• A Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, designed to make the police service more accountable through directly elected 'police commissioners', create a dedicated Border Police Force, and introduce measures to tackle alcohol-related violence and disorder.
• A Public Bodies (Reform) Bill, designed to cut the number of public bodies, introduce a greater degree of transparency and accountability for public bodies, and give the government new powers to abolish, merge, or transfer functions.
• A Decentralisation and Localism Bill, designed (for England only) to abolish regional spatial strategies, return decision-making powers on housing and planning to local councils, abolish the Infrastructure Planning Commission, and give residents the power to instigate local referendums on any local issue and the power to veto 'excessive' council tax increases.
• A Parliamentary Reform Bill, providing for a referendum on a choice between 'first past the post' and the 'alternative vote' as the system for electing the House of Commons, and introducing fixed-term parliaments of five years.
• A Freedom (Great Repeal) Bill, designed to extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act, reform the libel laws, repeal 'unnecessary' criminal offences, and introduce safeguards against the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation.
• An Identity Documents Bill, designed to scrap the identity card scheme.
• A Scotland Bill, designed to implement recommendations of the Final Report of the Commission on Scottish Devolution (the 'Calman Commission').
Source: Queen's Speech, 25 May 2010
Links: Text of Speech | Labour Party press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Telegraph report
Date: 2010-May
The new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government published an agreement setting out the practical and operational arrangements governing how the two parties would work together in coalition, including how policy would be commissioned and agreed.
Source: Coalition Agreement for Stability and Reform, Cabinet Office
Links: Agreement
Date: 2010-May
The new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition (formed following the general election in May 2010) published details of the initial agreements reached as the basis for a government programme.
Source: Conservative Liberal Democrat Coalition Negotiations: Agreements Reached, Conservative Party/Liberal Democrat Party
Links: Agreement | Conservative Party press release | IPPR press release | NUS press release | Million+ press release | Refugee Council press release | NLGN press release | LGIU press release | Unlock Democracy press release | CIPD press release | Guardian report | Professional Pensions report | Children & Young People Now report | Pulse report | People Management report
Date: 2010-May
A report by a committee of peers examined the arguments for and against the use of referendums. It 'noted' the arguments for their use as a way of strengthening the democratic process: but it said that the drawbacks and difficulties of their use were serious. There had been little consistency in the use of referendums: they had taken place on an ad hoc basis, frequently as a tactical device rather than on the basis of constitutional principle. Notwithstanding this, the Committee acknowledge arguments that, if referendums were to be used, they were most appropriately used in relation to fundamental constitutional issues.
Source: Referendums in the United Kingdom, 12th Report (Session 2009-10), HL 99, House of Lords Constitution Select Committee/TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Apr
A report by a committee of peers said that steps needed to be taken to improve the parliamentary accountability of the Cabinet Office and the Prime Minister's Office.
Source: The Cabinet Office and the Centre of Government, 4th Report (Session 2009-10), HL 30, House of Lords Constitution Select Committee/TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Feb
A report by a committee of MPs said that a greater proportion of outside appointments to the Senior Civil Service should be made from local government and the wider public sector rather than from the private sector.
Source: Outsiders and Insiders: External appointments to the Senior Civil Service, Seventh Report (Session 2009-10), HC 241, House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee/TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Feb
A report made a series of proposals for urgent reform in Parliament, in relations between Parliament and the executive, and in the executive's policy-making and delivery – which, taken together, were designed to improve the quality and effectiveness of government. Government policy should be based on evidence and analysis, and draw on relevant experience from the frontline. Departmental expertise in commissioning and using relevant research should be strengthened. Departments should use research not only in setting targets and assessing performance but also in identifying and anticipating longer-term trends. Systematic evaluation should be an established part of policy-making, and the tests and methods to be used in assessing the success of the policy should be decided at the same time as the policy itself and published.
Source: Good Government: Reforming Parliament and the Executive, Better Government Initiative
Links: Report | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report (1) | Telegraph report (2)
Date: 2010-Jan
A think-tank report said that there were 'long-standing strategic gaps' at the heart of the machinery of central government: closing those gaps would be fundamental in ensuring proper co-ordination of government work on the difficult issues it would face over the following two years.
Source: Simon Parker, Akash Paun, Jonathan McClory and Kate Blatchford, Shaping Up: A Whitehall for the future, Institute for Government
Links: Report | IFG press release | BBC report | Local Government Chronicle report
Date: 2010-Jan