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Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2011-04-14
Total Pages: 76
ISBN-13: 9780215559289
DOWNLOAD EBOOKTwenty-fifth report of Session 2010-11 : Documents considered by the Committee on 5 April 2011, report, together with formal Minutes
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2013-12-06
Total Pages: 96
ISBN-13: 9780215064783
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAuthor: Katharine Gelber
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2016-04-14
Total Pages: 187
ISBN-13: 0191083429
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAlthough there has been a lot written about how counter-terrorism laws impact on human rights and civil liberties, most of this work has focussed on the most obvious or egregious kinds of human rights abrogation, such as extended detention, torture, and extraordinary rendition. Far less has been written about the complex ways in which Western governments have placed new and far-reaching limitations on freedom of speech in this context since 9/11. This book compares three liberal democracies - the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, in particular showing the commonalities and similarities in what has occurred in each country, and the changes in the appropriate parameters of freedom of speech in the counter-terrorism context since 9/11, achieved both in policy change and the justification for that change. In all three countries much speech has been criminalized in ways that were considered anachronistic, or inappropriate, in comparable policy areas prior to 9/11. This is particularly interesting because other works have suggested that the United States' unique protection of freedom of speech in the First Amendment has prevented speech being limited in that country in ways that have been pursued in others. This book shows that this kind of argument misses the detail of the policy change that has occurred, and privileges a textual reading over a more comprehensive policy-based understanding of the changes that have occurred. The author argues that we are now living a new-normal for freedom of speech, within which restrictions on speech that once would have been considered aberrant, overreaching, and impermissible are now considered ordinary, necessary, and justified as long as they occur in the counter-terrorism context. This change is persistent, and it has far reaching implications for the future of this foundational freedom.
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2012-09-14
Total Pages: 442
ISBN-13: 9780215048387
DOWNLOAD EBOOKOn cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2011-12-20
Total Pages: 170
ISBN-13: 9780215040077
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Commons Public Accounts Committee publishes its 61st Report of the Session which, on the basis of evidence from the Cabinet Office and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), examined tax disputes. At 31 March 2011 HM Revenue & Customs was seeking to resolve tax issues valued at over £25 billion with large companies, some of which included disputes over outstanding tax. In this report, the Committee expresses concern about how the Department handled some cases involving large settlements and that there needs to be proper separation between the negotiation of tax settlements and the authorization of such settlements. The Committee also states that HMRC made matters worse by trying to avoid scrutiny of these settlements, keeping confidential the details of specific settlements with large companies. This effects Parliament's ability to establish value for money, compounded further by imprecise, inconsistent and potentially misleading answers given by senior departmental officials, including the Permanent Secretary for Tax in particular over his evidence on his relationship with Goldman Sachs, in facilitating a settlement with the company over their tax dispute. HMRC governance processes in these matters were inconsistent and it has now appointed two new Commissioners with tax expertise, and plans to introduce a new assessor role to permit independent review of large settlements before they are finalised. The Committee further states that it saw little evidence of personal accountability within the Department, and that a perception has developed that large companies are treated more favourably, receiving preferential treatment compared to small businesses and individuals.
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2013-01-02
Total Pages: 126
ISBN-13: 9780215052254
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAuthor: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2011-07-06
Total Pages: 178
ISBN-13: 9780215560391
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThirty-fourth report of Session 2010-12 : Documents considered by the Committee on 22 June 2011, including the following recommendations for debate, financial assistance to Member States: Portugal; preparation of the 2012 EU Budget; economic governance: t
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2011-03-10
Total Pages: 64
ISBN-13: 9780215556745
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThere are around 30 different types of benefits and pensions, and £148 billion was paid out to 20 million people in 2009-10. The Department for Work and Pensions estimates that £2.2 billion of overpayments and £1.3 billion of underpayments were made in 2009-10 as a result of administrative errors by its staff and mistakes by customers. Efforts to tackle error have had little success and levels of error have remained constant since 2007. A joint HM Revenue and Customs and Department for Work and Pensions fraud and error strategy announced in October 2010, along with additional funding of £425 million over four years, is an opportunity to inject a new impetus. Importantly, the Department has not addressed underpayments, despite the hardship that benefit underpayments can create for people in need. Interventions to reduce error must be targeted where they are most likely to get the greatest return. Progress on reducing error requires a better understanding of where and why errors arise, and a greater focus on preventing errors occurring in the first place. The Department is not making use of all available sources of information to identify the reasons why staff make mistakes, where guidance and training efforts should be directed, and to identify which customers are most likely to make mistakes on their benefit claims. Wider welfare reforms have the potential to reduce errors in the long term by simplifying benefits administration, but waiting for the implementation of the Universal Credit is not an option.
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: Joint Committee on Human Rights
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Published: 2011-01-21
Total Pages: 40
ISBN-13: 9780108473005
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Public Bodies Bill (HL Bill 25, ISBN 9780108478765) proposes to create a number of delegated powers by which the Government can abolish, merge, modify the constitution, functions or budgetary arrangements or a body or authorise delegation of a body's functions to a third person or body. Several other committees have expressed concern about the extreme breadth of the delegated powers proposed, and this report outline's three significant human rights issues arising from the Bill. First is the independence and impartiality of bodies protecting and promoting human rights. The inclusion of bodies such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Children's Commissioner, the Inspectorate of Prisons and the Legal Services Commission in the schedules to the Bill may undermine their functional or perceived independence. Secondly, the Committee is concerned that the abolition or reform of other bodies which serve a particular decision making function may undermine the right to procedural fairness. Thirdly, the breadth of delegation proposed in the Bill appears wholly inappropriate, and the excessive use of delegated powers may reduce the effectiveness of parliamentary scrutiny for human rights compatibility of proposed legislation.
Author: Meg Russell
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2017-09-01
Total Pages: 337
ISBN-13: 0191068330
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Westminster parliament is a highly visible political institution, and one of its core functions is approving new laws. Yet Britain's legislative process is often seen as executive-dominated, and parliament as relatively weak. As this book shows, such impressions can be misleading. Drawing on the largest study of its kind for more than forty years, Meg Russell and Daniel Gover cast new light on the political dynamics that shape the legislative process. They provide a fascinating account of the passage of twelve government bills - collectively attracting more than 4000 proposed amendments - through both the House of Commons and House of Lords. These include highly contested changes such as Labour's identity cards scheme and the coalition's welfare reforms, alongside other relatively uncontroversial measures. As well as studying the parliamentary record and amendments, the study draws from more than 100 interviews with legislative insiders. Following introductory chapters about the Westminster legislative process, the book focuses on the contribution of distinct parliamentary 'actors', including the government, opposition, backbenchers, select committees, and pressure groups. It considers their behaviour in the legislative process, what they seek to achieve, and crucially how they influence policy decisions. The final chapter reflects on Westminster's influence overall, showing this to be far greater than commonly assumed. Parliamentary influence is asserted in various different ways - ranging from visible amendments to more subtle means of changing government's behaviour. The book's findings make an important contribution to understanding both British politics and the dynamics of legislative bodies more broadly. Its readability and relevance will appeal to both specialists and general readers with interests in politics and law, in the UK and beyond.
