Table of contents
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58248/HS67
Overview
Concerns about the effectiveness of the UK Parliament in scrutinising policy and legislation, one of its core tasks, have come to the fore in recent years.[i] Contributors to the horizon scan identified several related issues including challenges to the oversight of delegated legislation and parliament’s ability to scrutinise the budget.
Challenges and opportunities
The challenges that the UK Parliament faces in scrutinising the government have grown in recent years, with growing demands on parliamentarians’ time and issues related to the procedures and resources of parliament to do this work. Dr Alice Lilly from the Institute for Government stated in 2023 that Parliament is “struggling to meaningfully scrutinise government policy and, above all, legislation”.[ii]
These concerns have been noted in parliament. For example, the House of Lords Constitution Committee has called for several improvements to parliamentary scrutiny of legislation. It has raised concerns about the “inappropriate” use of delegated legislation by ministers, which is when legislation is created by ministers under powers given to them by an Act of parliament. This is argued to have the effect of limiting scrutiny of the legislation.[iii] The Committee stated that the use of delegated legislation to create criminal offences was “constitutionally unacceptable”.[iv]
In relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, it raised concerns about the government’s use of emergency powers to fast-track legislation through parliament, and its use of delegated legislation to implement “significant restrictions on everyday life”.[v]
More widely, the Constitution Committee also called for changes to improve parliament’s scrutiny of bills, including through the creation of a Legislative Standards Committee to consider the quality of legislation and to make recommendations about the allocation of time to discuss it.[vi]
Concerns have also been raised by the House of Commons Procedure Committee about the role of parliament in scrutinising the budget. It stated in 2019 that the House “lacks the means of conducting effective systematic [before the event] financial scrutiny.” It called for the creation of a new budget committee with additional specialist support.
Other issues related to parliamentary scrutiny that were identified in the horizon scan included:
- concern about government delays in responding to select committee reports[vii]
- policy changes being announced outside parliament[viii]
- improvements to the scrutiny of public appointments[ix]
- concern about the degree to which the government controls the parliamentary agenda[x]
By reviewing previous attempts at parliamentary reform, a 2024 report by the UCL Constitution Unit assessed what mechanisms could be used to develop and deliver such reforms. It stated that those “pursuing reform would… be well-advised to work through and with a select committee” given the previous success of that approach.[xi]
Key uncertainties/unknowns
Several major select committee and academic reports have made the case for strengthened parliamentary scrutiny. However, such reforms will require political support, including from the government that will be subject to them.
Key questions for parliament
- How could consensus be reached in parliament on reform?
- How could parliamentary scrutiny of primary and secondary legislation be improved?
- What reforms might be needed to improve the scrutiny of emergency legislation?
- Would changes to increase parliamentary oversight of bills through a dedicated committee improve the standard of legislation?
- What changes could enhance parliamentary oversight of the budget?
- Could more be done to address government delays in responding to select committee reports?
- What additional role could there be for parliamentary scrutiny of public appointments?
- How might control of the agenda in parliament be shifted away from the executive?
- How might the requirement to announce major policies in parliament be enforced?
References
[i] Dr Alice Lilly, Institute for Government, The Slow Death of Parliamentary Scrutiny, The House, 15 May 2023
[ii] Dr Alice Lilly, Institute for Government, The Slow Death of Parliamentary Scrutiny, The House, 15 May 2023
[iii] Select Committee on the Constitution, COVID-19 and the use and scrutiny of emergency powers, 10 June 2021
[iv] Select Committee on the Constitution, The Legislative Process: The Delegation of Powers, 20 November 2018
[v] Select Committee on the Constitution, COVID-19 and the use and scrutiny of emergency powers, 10 June 2021
[vi] Select Committee on the Constitution, The Legislative Process: The Passage of Bills Through Parliament, 8 July 2019
[vii] Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, Levelling Up Committee criticises ‘repeat offender’ DLUHC for delayed Government responses to Committee reports, 19 September 2023
[viii] House of Commons Library, Government policy announcements, 18 January 2013
[ix] Institute for Government, Public appointments in 2023, 7 November 2023
[x] UCL, Time for MPs to take back control of the Commons, 19 January 2021
[xi] UCL, Delivering House of Commons Reform, 3 June 2024