Building on success - why we need to review the select committee system

Select committees are one of the great success stories of Parliament. Over the last 30 years they have become the principal mechanism through which the House of Commons holds the executive to account and have influenced the direction of government policy and legislation. Reforms in the past decade have increased their status and sharpened their operation, particularly the recent change to elect committee chairs and members, and events such as the banking crisis and the phone hacking scandal have given committees and their work a higher profile than ever before.

However these successes mask underlying questions about the functioning of the select committee system. Many new demands have been placed on committees in recent years, their workload is increasing and public expectation of them has been heightened, and yet resources are finite and will come under increasing pressure in the future as a result of budget cuts.

Beyond the headlines: Has trust in politicians really declined?

The Committee on Standards in Public Life’s (CSPL) biennial survey of public attitudes towards conduct in public life has just been published, to headlines proclaiming a decline in public trust in politicians – indeed an increasing decline in the words of committee chairman Sir Christopher Kelly. But is this really the case?

New MPs struggle with work/life balance - but most see politics as a long-term career

A new briefing paper, A Year in the Life: from member of public to Member of Parliament, finds long working hours and the competing demands of Westminster and constituency are proving detrimental to the family life of new MPs - yet despite this, most aspire to make politics a long-term career.

Evidence from the A Year in the Life study shows:

• The 2010 new intake of MPs initially expected a 60-hour week (plus eight hours travel) but six months on were working a 69- hour week;

•They split their working time 63% in Westminster and 37% in their constituencies - but constituency casework takes up the largest share of their time (28%), followed by constituency meetings/events (21%) and the Commons Chamber (21%);

•A vast number of the new intake report that long working hours and Westminster/constituency demands have a detrimental effect on their personal and family lives - comments such as ‘overwhelming', ‘devastating' and ‘a struggle' are common;

•Over half of new MPs (56%) took a salary cut on becoming an MP.

Improving the House of Lords working practices

The Parliament & Government programme has produced a short briefing paper on the working practices of the House of Lords, in advance of an oral question in the Lords about progress on proposed reforms.

On 26 April 2011 the Leader’s Group examining the working practices of the House of Lords published its wideranging recommendations for reforms to enable the Lords to better fulfil its core functions of scrutinising government, reviewing legislation and debating topical and important issues of the day. It is vital that these reforms are now considered for adoption by the House and not left to languish.

Private Members' Bills: proposals for reform

Private Members' Bills (PMBs) represent one of the few opportunities for backbench MPs to set the agenda in Parliament and address matters of public concern. However the PMB system is not fit for purpose, with popular bills regularly scuppered by archaic procedures and executive control of the timetable.

The Parliament & Government programme has produced a new briefing paper examining PMBs and setting out the options for reform.

Audit of Political Engagement 8

Willingness to get involved locally poses challenge for Big Society: only one in 10 people will ‘definitely’ volunteer.

The latest Audit of Political Engagement shows that while the momentous political events of 2010 increased the public’s interest in politics to a record 58%, there was no matching rise in political or civic activity. Beyond voting, people were no more likely to get involved or participate in politics than they are in non-election years.

Making Better Law: Reform of the legislative process from policy to Act

Laws are the essential threads that bind together our society, providing the framework within which our democratic system operates and mediation relations between each of us as citizens. Yet whether the audience is parliamentarians who make the law, judges who have to apply it, or the public who must comply with it, it is not difficult to find vocal critics of the quality of legislation and the process by which our laws are made today.

The quality of law is ultimately shaped by the scrutiny it receives in Parliament. But the tidal wave of often hastily prepared, deficient legislation that Parliament has been asked to scrutinise over the last decade and more has severely stretched the capacity of parliamentarians to perform their constitutional function effectively.

Making Better Law, a new study by the Hansard Society, examines legislative process from policy to Act of Parliament, including consultation, drafting and scrutiny procedures. It analyses the political, procedural and cultural factors that together help determine the quality of the UK statute book. It diagnoses the causes and consequences of deficient law and sets out a comprehensive package of reform recommendations for Government and Parliament to improve the quality of law-making in the future.

Audit of Political Engagement 7: Interactive summary report

The Parliament and Government programme have produced a specially designed interactive summary of our Audit of Political 7 report published earlier this year. This PDF is designed for teachers and young people to explore the main survey findings about political engagement and prompt discussion on the issues utilising questions at the bottom of each page.

Valuable both as a tool for individual or group learning, this summary report provides an accessible introduction to the public's understanding of politics and engagement with politics and highlights the key themes. Download the summary report here.

Examining the government's constitutional bills

The Parliament and Government programme has given evidence to the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and the House of Lords Constitution Committee on the government's new Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill and Fixed-term Parliaments Bill.

We argue that good scrutiny is an essential prerequisite of good law-making and good governance and that with regard to both the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill and the Fixed Term Parliaments Bill political expediency appears to have taken priority over Parliament’s right to properly scrutinise the executive. Tackling important constitutional issues in such a rushed manner is not a recipe for good government and high quality legislation. These pieces of legilsation would bring about a substantial constitutional change but have not been through the consultation processes that are normally expected of constitutional bills.

The accountability of the Office for Budget Responsibility to Parliament

The Parliament and Government programme has given evidence to the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee inquiry on the arrangements for the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). We recommend that Parliament should seek to ensure that it both holds the OBR to account but also makes use of its resources and expertise.