Guides

Parliament is overseen by a presiding officer who is elected at the first plenary meeting following an election. An official report of plenary meetings is normally published on the morning following the end of proceedings. MSPs almost always deliver their speeches in English, but they are permitted to use Scots Gaelic if they wish. A...Read More

Where a Bill has fallen because it has been endorsed by the Commons but opposed repeatedly by the Lords, the Parliament Acts may be used. The Acts – the first in 1911 and the second in 1949 – allow for a Bill to become law without the agreement of the Lords when certain conditions have...Read More

Where a Bill has fallen because it has been endorsed by the Commons but opposed repeatedly by the Lords, the Parliament Acts may be used. The Acts – the first in 1911 and the second in 1949 – allow for a Bill to become law without the agreement of the Lords when certain conditions have...Read More

Where a Bill has fallen because it has been endorsed by the Commons but opposed repeatedly by the Lords, the Parliament Acts may be used. The Acts – the first in 1911 and the second in 1949 – allow for a Bill to become law without the agreement of the Lords when certain conditions have...Read More

All Whitehall departments have a Parliamentary Branch that is charged with managing the department's relations with the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It is the Parliamentary Branch that drafts answers to Written Questions tabled by MPs and peers before they are sent to Ministers' Private Offices for approval. The Parliamentary Branch also...Read More

The first rung on the ministerial ladder for a government back-bencher comes when an MP is asked by a Secretary of State or Minister of State to become his or her Parliamentary Private Secretary or PPS. Often referred to as a Minister's 'eyes and ears in Parliament' or 'bag carrier', the PPS undertakes to aid...Read More

There are different types of parliamentary questions with various question sessions held in Parliament every week. These include oral questions, written questions, cross-cutting questions, and Prime Minister questions. To find out more on this issue click through our guide to parliamentary questions.Read More

Parliamentary questions take the form of either starred questions or written questions in the House of Lords. Starred questions are oral questions that tended to be based on topical issues. Written questions are tabled and answered usually within 14 days and published in Hansard. To find out more on this issue click through our guide...Read More

All the major political parties have representation in the Lords. Until the removal of the hereditary peers, the Conservatives had a substantial in-built majority, which continues to remain to an extent. In practice, the Conservatives and Labour are now reasonably in terms of working peers, with the Liberal Democrats having sufficient numbers to swing key...Read More

Pillar three relates to justice and home affairs (JHA), another highly sensitive political area. As such, decision-making under pillar three continues to be primarily intergovernmental. This is probably the least developed area of EU common policy, because of the cultural and legal barriers to harmonisation and the implications it has for national sovereignty. Indeed, the...Read More

Pillar two relates to common foreign and security policy (CFSP). The Maastricht Treaty provides for the EU to develop CFSP, covering all areas of foreign and security policy with the following objectives: 1. To safeguard the common values, interests, independence and integrity of the EU, in conformity with the UN Charter 2. To protect the...Read More

Plaid Cymru emerged from the 2005 general election with somewhat disappointing results. It lost the Ceredigion seat to the Liberal Democrats and saw its overall representation fall to three points, its lowest level since 1992. Its share of the vote was also down, leaving the party with just 12.6%. But things change. In 2006, the...Read More

In our guide to plenary sessions in the Scottish Parliament you will find useful information regarding the business agenda of Parliament decided by the Parliamentary Bureau, how debates and motions are tabled in Parliament, the rules of weekly question sessions, voting in the Parliament and the passing of legislation including which areas the Scottish Parliament...Read More

Our guide to plenary sessions provides information on how business agendas and debates are tabled, the passage of legislation, and voting processes in the Assembly. To find out more on this issue click through our guide to plenary sessions in the Welsh Assembly.Read More

If an MP believes another MP has broken the procedural rules of the House, a Point of Order may be raised with Speaker. Points of order may be taken by the chair at any time except during oral questions or statements and prior notice may have been given. The accusing MP makes the case and...Read More

The Treaty of Rome set the EU the task of promoting the harmonious development of economic activities, balanced and continuous expansion, increased stability, rising living standards and closer relations between member states "by establishing a common market and progressively approximating the economic policies of member states". Ensuring that the benefits of economic policy are evenly...Read More

Once the political decision has been taken to pursue a specific policy or legislative objective, work on drafting a proposal begins within the relevant DG. Most initial proposals are drafted by a middle-ranking 'A' grade civil servant, and is gradually passed upwards (being revised throughout) through the DG's hierarchy, to the commissioner's cabinet, to the...Read More

Political parties become governments by winning elections having put a manifesto containing policy proposals to voters. But not all policies that a government makes while in power can be found in these documents and regardless of where an idea originated, most go through some development within government prior to implementation. Policy-making can take a number...Read More

Increasingly new pieces of government legislation are published in draft about one Session ahead of their intended introduction and passage. Draft Bills are normally subjected to pre-legislative scrutiny at the hands of a joint-committee of MPs and peers formed for that purpose. Such a committee will take evidence from individuals and organisations who express an...Read More