The House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament
of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords (the upper house). Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of
Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are
known as "Members of
Parliament" or MPs. The Commons hold their seats during
the life of a Parliament, normally 5 years. They can be elected ether
at a general election, or at by-election held when a vacancy occurs
in the House. Each parliamentary session begins with the ‘State Opening
of Parliament’. The Speaker is the chief officer of the House of Commons.
This office has been held continuously since 1377. For hundreds of years,
it was the Speaker’s job to communicate the decisions of the Commons
to the King (that is where the title ‘Speaker’ comes from). The
speaker has two main functions:
- representing the House in its relations with the
Crown, the House of Lords and other authorities;
- presiding over the House and enforcing the observance
of all rules.
In fact, the Speaker is, officially, the second most
important ‘commoner’ (non-aristocrat) in the kingdom after the Prime
Minister.
The Leader of the House (appointed by the government) agrees with
the Prime Minister the general business, including debates, which they
want. The Government determines the order in which the business will
be taken, after consultation with the Opposition. Twenty opposition
days each session allow the Opposition to choose the subject for debate.
When Parliament is sitting the House
meets at 2.30 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and at 9.30 am on
Wednesday and Friday. The proceedings open with Prayers read by the
Speaker’s Chaplain. After Prayers the Speaker takes the Chair and
members of the public can enter the galleries. Visitors are described,
in the language of Parliament, as ‘strangers’. It is usually possible
to get a seat in the Strangers’ Gallery of the House of Lords at any
time, but it is not so easy to get into the House of Commons Gallery,
particularly in the summer, when London is full of tourists.
After any private business
(or if there is none - immediately after Prayers) Question time begins
and continues until 3.30 pm.
Members and elections
Since 1948, each Member of Parliament represents
a single constituency. There remains a technical distinction between county constituencies and borough constituencies, but the only effect of this difference is the amount
of money candidates are allowed to spend during campaigns. The boundaries
of the constituencies are determined by four permanent and independent Boundary Commissions, one each for England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The Commissions conduct general reviews of electoral
boundaries once every 8 to 12 years, as well as a number of interim
reviews. In drawing boundaries, they are required to take into account
local government boundaries, but may deviate from this requirement in
order to prevent great disparities in the populations of the various
constituencies. The proposals of the Boundary Commissions are subject
to parliamentary approval, but may not be amended. After the next general
review of constituencies, the Boundary Commissions will be absorbed
into the Electoral
Commission, which was established in 2000. Currently the United
Kingdom is divided into 646 constituencies, with 529 in England, 40 in Wales, 59 in Scotland,
and 18 in Northern Ireland.
The date of a General Election is the choice of the Prime Minister, but traditionally, it tends to be a Thursday. Each
candidate must submit nomination papers signed by ten registered voters
from the constituency, and pay a deposit of £500, which is refunded
only if the candidate wins at least five per cent of the vote.
The term "Member of Parliament" is normally used only to
refer to Members of the House of Commons, even though the House of Lords
is also a part of Parliament. Members of the House of Commons may use
the post-nominal letters "MP". The annual salary of each Member is currently £59,095.
Traditionally, MPs were not supposed to be specialist politicians. They
were ordinary citizens giving some of their time to representing the
people. Ideally, they came from all walks of life, bringing their experience
of the everyday world into Parliament with them. This is why MPs were
not even paid until 1911. Evidently, this meant that only rich people
could afford to be MPs. But many MPs need to have outside earnings,
through journalism, work in the law courts or business, to enable them
to live at the standard they expect. Moreover, by European standards,
British MPs have incredibly poor facilities. Most MPs have to share
an office and a secretary with two or more other MPs.
The House of Commons spends about 1,500 hours a year
in session. During any year almost every aspect of the nation’s business
is dealt with in debate. A typical full-day debate lasts about five
to six hours, with opening and closing speeches by ministers and shadow
ministers.
The House of Commons has six administrative and executive departments.
The Clerk’s Department advises the Speaker and MPs (including ministers)
on the practice and procedure of the House. The Department of the Sergeant-at-Arms
deals with order and security in the precincts of the House, ceremonial
and communications, and with accommodation matters. The Department of
the Library provides MPs with every kind of oral and written information
that they may need in connection with their parliamentary duties, including
books and documents. The library maintains sophisticated indexing systems
and press cutting services. The Public Information Office of the House
of Commons is administered by the Department of the Library. The Department
of the Official Report is responsible for reporting all the sittings
of the House and its standing committees, and producing the Official
Report. The Administration Department provides certain common services
and coordination for all departments in the administrative fields of
finance, establishment and general staffing matters. The Refreshment
Department makes available eating and drinking facilities to members
and staff of the House, whenever the House is sitting, no matter how
late that might be. The six administrative departments of the House
are under the supervision of the House of Commons Commission, composed
of MPs, and chaired by the Speaker.
Although it does not elect the Prime Minister, the
position of the parties in the House of Commons is of overriding importance.
By convention the Prime Minister is answerable to, and must maintain
the support of, the House of Commons. Thus, whenever the office of Prime
Minister falls vacant, the Sovereign appoints the person most likely
to command the support of the House—normally the leader of the largest
party in the Commons.
The House of Commons Management
Board
The Management Board oversees the operational functions
of the House and develops the House’s policies, budgets and strategic
planning, which are endorsed by the Commission. The Chief Executive,
who is also the Clerk of the House of Commons, chairs the Management
Board. The other members are the heads of the five departments of the
House, the Director of Parliamentary ICT (a bicameral department serving
both the House of Commons and Lords) and two external members appointed
through open competition.
Below the Management Board are the five departments,
which make up the House of Commons Service. These are Chamber and Committee
Services, Facilities, Finance, Human Resources and Change, and Information
Services. Parliamentary ICT is provided by a joint department of both
Houses. The Office of the Chief Executive sits outside the departmental
structure and supports the Chief Executive and the Management Board
in functions such as strategic and business planning, risk management,
coordination of business resilience, internal communications and internal
audit.
Both the Commission/Members Estimate Committee and
the Management Board are advised by the House’s two Audit Committees:
the Administration Estimate Audit Committee and the Members Estimate
Audit Committee.
Assurance
The Management Board seeks to provide assurance to
the Commission that that its arrangements for running the House are
working effectively. This assurance is provided in a number of ways.
Internal Audit Service
The objective of Internal Audit is to provide the
Clerk, as Accounting Officer, with an independent and objective evaluation
of the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the House's arrangements
for governance, risk management and control.
This is achieved through a programme of work across
a range of the House's activities that should provide sufficient coverage
of the major areas and a selection of others based on risk and rotation.
Audit Committees
The House of Commons has two Audit Committees, the
Administration Estimate Audit Committee and the Members Estimate Audit
Committee, which share the same membership. Committee members include
both MPs and external experts; the chair is the external member of the
Management Board. The Committees have oversight of the work of Internal
Audit, with particular emphasis on promoting economy, efficiency and
effectiveness, on value-for-money studies, and on risk assessment and
control assurance.
The Committees receive and consider reports from Internal Audit and
other sources and make an annual report which is published with the
House of Commons Commission's Annual Report.
National Audit Office
The National Audit Office provides an external audit
function. It audits the Resource Accounts (both Administration and Members
Estimates) which are prepared by the House Service. The head of the
NAO, the Comptroller & Auditor General, gives an opinion on whether
the accounts present a “true and fair view” as well as on the “regularity”
of the expenditure. The NAO’s focus is primarily on the financial
accounts.
Annual Letters of Assurance
The Clerk of the House and Chief Executive issues
delegation letters to the heads of each department of the House on appointment,
and they receive an annual budget letter. They submit to him an annual
letter of assurance, setting out how they have ensured the effective
and efficient management of the responsibilities delegated to them and
their department by the Clerk.
Internet resources:
- http://www.parliament.uk/business/commons/governance-of-the-house-of-commons-/house-governance-structure/
- http://projectbritain.com/government/index.htm
- http://www.responsiblecitizen.co.uk/house-of-commons.html