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Elections - Parliamentary business

4 important questions on Elections - Parliamentary business

What does parliamentary business usually comprise?

alot of debating on proposals and new laws and voting on them. Also the work of special and permanent committees on special subjects.

A proposal is made into a bill by lawyers, then it goed through a number of stages : (5)

First reading formal announcement
Second readingHouse debates the general principles of the bill, and take
a vote
Committee stagecommittee of MPs examine the details of the bill
Report stage The House considers the amendment

Third readingamended bill is debated as a whole

What is a division?

When there is a vote, MPs have to choose if they are for or against the proposal. They do this by walking through one or two corridors at the side of the House - one side is for the Ayes and the other for the Noes.

What are the committees and what is their contribution?

Resolutions are only part of the activities. There are also committees; they are appointed to examine particular proposals for new laws.

The Permanent committees consist of 40 members who are formed to reflect the relative strengths of the parties in the Commons as a whole. They investigate the activities of government in a particular field. They have the power to call certain people, such as civil servants, to come and answer their questions. They are becoming a more important part of the business of the Commons.

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

Britain - for Learners of English | 9780194306447 | James O'Driscoll

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