HC 811 - The Treasury Committee's Scrutiny of Appointments
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Treasury Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2016
Total Pages: 25
ISBN-13: 0215091264
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Select Committees and public appointments
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Liaison Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2011-09-05
Total Pages: 80
ISBN-13: 9780215561244
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis report considers the experience of some three years of holding 'pre-appointment' hearings by select committees to examine the 'preferred candidate' for certain public appointments before that appointment is confirmed. Whilst the committee considers the experiment a success they do recommend a number of changes. They propose a three tier list: Posts in the first tier are those considered to be of sufficient constitutional significance as to require a process which is effectively a joint appointment by Government and the House of Commons. Posts in the second tier are those which the committee proposes should be subject to an enhanced an improved version of the current process, and which should be subject to an 'effective veto' by the House of Commons or its committees. For posts in the third tier, pre-appointment hearings should be at the discretion of committees.
Pre-appointment hearings by select committees
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Liaison Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2008-03-05
Total Pages: 40
ISBN-13: 9780215514035
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPre-appointment hearings by select Committees : First report session 2007 - 2008, report and annexes, together with formal Minutes
Appointment of the Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Justice Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2011-02-07
Total Pages: 32
ISBN-13: 9780215556349
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. The JAC was created in April 2006 following provisions in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. The JAC was intended to ensure independence and transparency in the judicial appointments process by making recommendations to the Lord Chancellor based on fair and open competition. The JAC makes recommendations for all judicial post-holders except lay magistrates and supreme court judges. The Ministry of Justice informed the Committee on 10 January that the Secretary of State's preferred candidate for the Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission was Christopher Stephens. The Committee endorses Mr Stephens' suitability for the position of Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission. It thought that Mr Stephens' experience in the commercial sector was particularly relevant to ensuring that the JAC is an efficient organisation. It also values his experience in making appointments in the civil service but welcome his recognition that judicial appointments have special and different requirements.
Dramas at Westminster
Author: Marc Geddes
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Published: 2019-12-06
Total Pages: 278
ISBN-13: 1526136821
DOWNLOAD EBOOKBased on unprecedented access to the UK Parliament, this book challenges how we understand and think about accountability between government and Parliament. Drawing on three months of research in Westminster, and over forty-five interviews, this book focuses on the everyday practices of Members of Parliament and officials to reveal how parliamentarians perform their scrutiny roles. Some MPs become specialists while others act as lone wolves; some are there to try to defend their party while others want to learn about policy. Amongst these different styles, chairs of committees have to try to reconcile these interpretations and either act as committee-orientated catalysts or attempt to impose order as leadership-orientated chieftains. All of this pushes and pulls scrutiny in competing directions, and tells us that accountability depends on individual beliefs, everyday practices and the negotiation of dilemmas. In this way, MPs and officials create a drama or spectacle of accountability and use their performance on the parliamentary stage to hold government to account. Dramas at Westminster: Select committees and the quest for accountability offers the most up-to-date and detailed research on committee practices in the House of Commons, following a range of reforms since 2010.
HC 734 - Appointment of Angela Knight as Chair of the Office of Tax Simplification
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Treasury Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2016
Total Pages: 21
ISBN-13: 0215090896
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn this Report, the Committee has considered the suitability of Ms Angela Knight for her role as Chair of the OTS against two criteria - personal independence and professional competence - as the previous Treasury Committee did for her predecessor and for appointees to the Bank of England's Policy Committees and the Office for Budget Responsibility. In this appointment hearing, the Committee also wanted to ensure that the candidate's personal and professional background does not give rise to any conflicts of interest with the aims of the OTS. Notwithstanding reservations based on the evidence it heard, the Committee is content to endorse Ms Knight's appointment
Executive Power
Author: Robert Hazell
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2022-11-03
Total Pages: 345
ISBN-13: 1509951466
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis book considers the function of the royal prerogative in the changing landscape of the British constitution. It explains each of the prerogative powers in separate chapters. It clarifies the respective roles of government, Parliament and the courts in defining the extent of prerogative powers, and in regulating their use. It also looks at which powers should be codified in statute, which should be regulated by convention, and which could be left at large. The book is very timely in contributing to current debates. The fevered parliamentary debates over Brexit thrust the prerogative centre-stage. Recent controversies have ranged from the role of Parliament in assenting to treaties, to the prorogation and dissolution of Parliament, to the grant or withholding of royal assent to bills. In their 2019 election manifesto, the Conservative Party stated that 'After Brexit we also need to look at the broader aspects of our constitution, the relationship between the Government, Parliament and the courts; the functioning of the Royal Prerogative...'. The book covers the whole range of prerogative powers, from going to war and ratifying treaties, appointing and dismissing ministers, regulating the civil service and public appointments, to the grant of honours and pardons and the issue of passports. Its 19 chapters provide a comprehensive guide to the operation of the prerogative – past, present, and future – together with suggestions for reform.
Scotland's Constitution: Law and Practice
Author: Chris Himsworth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2021-03-10
Total Pages: 687
ISBN-13: 1526509563
DOWNLOAD EBOOKA clear, comprehensive account of Scottish constitutional law within its UK and European context. It describes and analyses constitutional arrangements while integrating that analysis with a general background to constitutional law and the UK institutions which have a continuing relevance for the government of Scotland. This highly regarded text considers law-making powers for Scotland, the legislative process at Westminster and at Holyrood, the accountability and scrutiny of government, the independence of the judiciary and the role of the courts in interpreting and adjudicating upon constitutional and administrative law questions. The fourth edition has been fully updated throughout and includes: · An update on the Scottish devolution settlement, including the changes made by the Scotland Act 2016 in the field of social security. · A new chapter covering the Brexit referendum, the withdrawal negotiations between the UK and the EU and Brexit litigation - with a particular focus on Brexit's impact on Scottish constitutional arrangements. · Coverage of new case law since the last edition in the area of judicial review and specifically on devolution.
Accountability of the Bank of England
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Treasury Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2011-11-08
Total Pages: 212
ISBN-13: 9780215038531
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn this report the Treasury Committee argues that governance at the Bank of England must be strengthened to reflect its new powers. The Court of the Bank of England should be transformed into a smaller, more expert Supervisory Board with its own staff. It should decide on the allocation of resources among the Bank's different areas of work and its minutes should be published. The Supervisory Board should have the power to conduct and publish retrospective reviews of Bank policies and conduct. The Board should also have a statutory responsibility to respond to reasonable requests for information from Parliament. The Chancellor should be responsible and accountable in a period of financial turbulence where public money is at risk, and in these circumstances the Chancellor should be given a temporary and limited power to direct the Bank. The Committee proposes a means by which this can be achieved without requiring the use of the 'nuclear weapon' of the 1946 Act, which would undermine Bank of England independence across the board. Other recommendations include: the Governor should be appointed for a single, non-renewable term of 8 years; thorough parliamentary scrutiny of the new macro-prudential tools to be given to the FPC at the time of their introduction; the Treasury should give guidance to the FPC that it adopt published indicators for defining and gauging financial stability; the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) and the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) should have a majority of external members.
Parliament and the Law
Author: Alexander Horne
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2022-09-22
Total Pages: 403
ISBN-13: 1509934111
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe third edition of Parliament and the Law presents a timely and valuable resource covering recent developments. Brexit, the #MeToo movement, and the COVID-19 pandemic all presented Parliament with a series of challenges. This edition includes new chapters on Brexit, legislation and scrutiny, the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster treaty scrutiny, votes of confidence and the Fixed Term Parliament Act, and the financing of Parliament. This is a multi-disciplinary work authored by lawyers, political scientists, parliamentary officials, and practitioners and is supported by the Study of Parliament Group (SPG).
