Commons, House of

Lower chamber of the UK Parliament. It consists of 646 elected members of Parliament (MPs), each of whom represents a constituency. Its functions are to debate, legislate (pass laws), and to oversee the activities of government. Constituencies are kept under continuous review by the Parliamentary Boundary Commissions (1944). The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker. Proceedings in the House of Commons have been televised since November 1989.

The members of the House of Commons are directly elected by universal adult suffrage (all UK citizens aged 18 and over having a vote). Under the Parliament Act (1911) the maximum period between general elections is five years, but the prime minister may ask for a dissolution at any time during a Parliament's lifetime. Some Parliaments have lasted four or five years (for example 1945–1950, 1966–70), and 1992–97, whereas others have been of much shorter duration (for example 1950–51, 1964–66, February–October 1974). Normally the prime minister calls an election at a time which he or she judges their party is most likely to win and the power of dissolution is therefore a powerful political weapon, although it does not, of course, give the government control over its own electoral popularity.

In order to remain in office the prime minister and his or her government must retain the confidence of a majority of the members of the House of Commons, whereas it may not have and does not need to retain the confidence of a majority of the members of the House of Lords. The majority of ministers are drawn from the House of Commons and it is there that the government must defend its actions and policies. Major legislation is introduced first in the House of Commons and any resolution or bill proposing an increase in taxation or public expenditure must be moved in the Commons by a minister of the Crown. If the House of Lords declines to pass financial legislation within a month of its being passed by the lower house, then it may nonetheless receive the royal assent under the Parliament Act of 1911. The House of Commons is therefore constitutionally and politically much the more important of the two Houses of Parliament.

The number of MPs Although the House of Commons currently has 646 members (2007), its membership has varied over time. Historically the number of MPs has tended to increase. Following the union with Ireland in 1800 there were 658 MPs. Some ‘rotten’ and ‘pocket’ boroughs were disenfranchised in 1832, but the seats were redistributed to more populous areas and the total remained unchanged until 1885, when a major redistribution of constituencies was necessitated by the extension of the franchise introduced by the Representation of the People Act 1884, and the number of MPs was increased to 670. This number remained unchanged until 1918, when there was another redistribution of constituencies and an increase in the number of members to 707, but the creation of the Irish Free State in 1920 resulted in a reduction of the number of seats to 615.

Constituencies In spite of increasing population mobility which, over time, resulted in some constituencies acquiring much larger electorates than others, no machinery for the periodic redistribution of constituencies was created until 1944, when four permanent boundary commissions (one each for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) were established. Twenty-five new constituencies were created in 1944 to deal with the most inflated electorates, increasing the membership to 640, but a complete review did not take place until 1948, when the boundaries of all but a few constituencies were altered.

The practice of periodic reviews was finally established by the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949, which laid down the rules under which the boundary commissioners operate. The boundary commissioners apply an electoral quota of approximately 65,000 per constituency and adhere as far as possible to local government boundaries.

Originally redistributions were to take place at intervals of between seven and ten years, but this was found to be too frequent and the limits were extended to between ten and 15 years. The recommendations of the commissioners must be approved by Parliament and take effect with the dissolution of Parliament, thus applying to the general election which follows. Since the general election of May 2005 the 646 seats in the House of Commons have been divided as follows: England 529, Scotland 59 (the number of Scottish seats having been reduced from 72 on the recommendation of the Boundary Commission for Scotland), Wales 40, and Northern Ireland 18.

Members of Parliament MPs must be British subjects and at least 21 years of age, but under the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1957 there are a number of categories of persons who may not be MPs and membership is best seen in terms of disqualification rather than qualification. Thus the following are ineligible to become MPs: aliens; people under 21; people medically certified as suffering from mental illness; peers; peeresses in their own right; holders of offices of profit under the Crown (for example judges, civil servants, members of the armed services, but not ministers, who are specifically excluded from disqualification under the Act); clergymen of the Church of England, the Church of Ireland, Roman Catholic priests, and ministers of the Church of Scotland (but not nonconformist ministers); convicted prisoners serving sentences of 12 or more months; undischarged bankrupts; people guilty of corrupt or illegal electoral practices; full-time members of any police force; and members of foreign, but not Commonwealth, legislatures.

Under the Peerages Act 1963 a person who succeeds to a peerage may disclaim the peerage and thus become, or in the case of a sitting MP, remain, eligible to sit in the House of Commons. In the case of an MP, however, the period allowed for a disclaimer is limited to one month, whereas other people have a year from the time of their succession.

At the 2005 general election the average age of elected MPs was 51 years. Two-thirds of MPs elected for the three main parties attended state schools (including 80% of Labour MPs, and 40% of Conservatives); 118 MPs came from business backgrounds (75 of them Conservative); and 91 were teachers (73 Labour, 12 Liberal Democrat, and six Conservative). There were a record 128 women MPs (98 Labour) and 15 from ethnic minorities after the 2005 election (compared to 118 and 12 respectively in 2001).

Salaries and facilities As at April 2007, the basic salary of MPs was £60,675, with a staff allowance of up to £90,505 (the office cost allowance having been abolished in 2003) In addition to their parliamentary pay, ministers in the House of Commons received salaries ranging from £30,280 for parliamentary under secretaries to £76,904 for those in the cabinet. The prime minister was entitled to a salary of £128,174 and a Public Duty Costs Allowance of £87,276.

MPs are also provided with free postage and telephone calls on parliamentary business. Offices and desk areas are available in the Palace of Westminster and nearby buildings. The House of Commons Library provides MPs with extensive library and information services, which have expanded considerably in recent years. On retirement from Parliament MPs who have reached the age of 65 (or over) and who have served for at least four years, receive a pension under a scheme which has been operating since 1965.

MPs are allowed to earn money outside Parliament, but must declare such earnings in the Register of Members' Interests.

Officers The officers of the House of Commons consist of the Speaker and three deputies, who are all MPs, and various full-time employees of the Commons, who serve the House and its members. The principal officers are:

(1) The Speaker is the presiding officer and authoritative spokesperson of the Commons, and ranks as the ‘third commoner’. On retirement he or she is usually created a peer, and is given an annuity. Speakers are elected by the House at every new Parliament, but the Speaker of the old Parliament is customarily re-elected, provided he or she has not lost their seat. The Crown has the right to reject the person elected, but since 1678 has not exercised it. Speakers never vote except when the votes are equal. Their powers are substantial, especially in rulings as to procedure. The Speaker acts independently of all party considerations; the impartiality of the Speaker is of nearly two centuries' standing. Other functions include maintaining order, signing warrants of committal for contempt, reprimanding members when necessary, and signing warrants for by-election writs.

(2) The Chairman of Ways and Means, or deputy Speaker takes the chair when the House goes into committee, maintains order in committee, and acts as deputy Speaker of the House in the absence of the Speaker. Chairmen of Ways and Means are elected by the House, and like the Speaker hold office until a dissolution. When acting in committee, they can apply the closure. They also have important duties in conjunction with the chair of committees in the upper House in regard to private bills. In their absence one of the two deputy chairmen acts for them, and shares with the chairman duties in the House when the Speaker is absent.

(3) The Clerk of the House of Commons, who is appointed by letters patent, assists the Speaker in particular and members of the House generally.

(4) The Serjeant at Arms, who bears the mace when the Speaker enters or leaves the House. Serjeants at arms are appointed by letters patent and their principal duty is to execute the directions of the Speaker relative to the maintenance of order. Hence it is their duty to arrest such strangers as have no lawful business in the House, to execute warrants for contempt, and to bring people in custody to the bar of the House. They also have housekeeping functions under the Speaker, who is responsible for that part of the Palace of Westminster occupied by the Commons.

The organization of the House of Commons The main services and facilities of the House of Commons are administered through: the Speaker's Department, which, apart from the Speaker's personal staff, is responsible for Hansard, the verbatim record of Commons' debates; the Department of the Clerk, which ensures that the business of the House and its committees runs smoothly; the Department of the Library, which provides MPs with information and research services; the Department of the Serjeant at Arms, which is responsible for the allocation of rooms to MPs and the provision of other routine services and facilities; and the Administration Department, which deals with the pay and conditions of all employees of the House of Commons.

Responsibility for the administration of the House resides with the House of Commons Commission, chaired by the Speaker. The political organization of the House of Commons rests primarily in the hands of the parties represented in the House, especially the parties forming Her Majesty's Government and Her Majesty's Opposition.

Government and opposition The UK Parliament operates on the adversarial principle in which the government of the day presents its proposals to and defends its policies in Parliament and these are in turn criticized by the Opposition, which presents itself as an alternative government. This is recognized explicitly in the practice of the Speaker to invite contributions in debate alternately from opposite sides of the House and, more especially, in the extent to which the Opposition is allocated parliamentary time to carry out its functions of criticism and offering alternative policies.

The government normally consults the Opposition in the allocation of time, although the initiative in setting the parliamentary agenda lies with the government which, if it has a majority, can usually enforce its will. The Opposition is allocated 29 supply days each parliamentary session or year. These are days on which the estimates (of public expenditure) or supply are discussed, but which are in practice used by the Opposition to debate any subject it chooses. Cooperation and negotiation between the government and the Opposition take place through the ‘usual channels’ or ‘behind the Speaker's chair’, the terms used to describe discussions between the party whips.

In presenting itself as an alternative government the Opposition does not normally expect to defeat the government in the House of Commons, although it sometimes seeks to do so in a ‘snap’ vote, but so to damage the government's credibility that the electorate will be persuaded to elect the opposition party to power at the next general election. The Opposition also seeks and sometimes succeeds in securing the modification of government policy and may resort to obstructive tactics in Parliament to demonstrate the strength of its feeling.

The leader of the House of Commons, who usually holds the office of Lord President of the Privy Council or of Lord Privy Seal, is in charge of the government's business in the House of Commons. He or she is assisted by the government chief whip, who holds the office of parliamentary secretary to the Treasury, and about a dozen junior whips, who are also paid ministerial salaries.

The Opposition is usually led by the leader of the second-largest party in the House of Commons. He or she has the official title of leader of Her Majesty's Opposition and is assisted by the ‘shadow cabinet’, which consists of colleagues appointed by the leader to be spokespersons for the party in various policy areas. When the Labour Party is in opposition, however, the shadow cabinet or Parliamentary Committee is elected by the Parliamentary Labour Party, although the leader allocates responsibilities and may appoint additional spokespersons.

The members of the government and its supporters occupy the benches to the right of the Speaker and the Opposition and its supporters the benches to his left. MPs holding ministerial office and members of the shadow cabinet are commonly known as frontbenchers, since they occupy the benches nearest to the Speaker on their respective sides of the House; all other MPs are known as backbenchers or private members. The various parties in the House of Commons meet regularly during the parliamentary session to discuss policy and tactics and the two major parties operate extensive backbench committee systems.

Full party meetings of the Conservative 1922 Committee (consisting of all Conservative backbenchers) and the Parliamentary Labour Party (consisting of all Labour MPs and peers) and the various party subject committees are consultative bodies, and do not have the formal power to determine party policy. The initiative and, to a large extent, the determination of policy is firmly in the hands of the party leadership, particularly when the party is in power, but this is not to say that backbenchers are without influence: party leaders normally keep their ears close to the ground and ignore backbench unrest and dissatisfaction at their peril.

Parliamentary sessions The House of Commons meets for approximately 160 days a year, with breaks or adjournments at Christmas, Easter, Whitsun, and in the summer. The parliamentary session or year normally begins and ends in October or November. The House normally meets every day except Saturday and Sunday. On Mondays and Tuesdays it meets at 2.30 p.m.; on Wednesdays at 11.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m., and on Thursdays at 10.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. On Fridays, most of which are devoted to private members' business (as opposed to government business or time allocated to the Opposition), the sitting begins at 9.30 a.m. and ends at 3.00 p.m. It is possible, however, for the House to extend any sitting and late-night sittings add the equivalent of more than 30 days to the session.

Questions to the prime minister may be put for 30 minutes on Wednesday.

Procedure of the House of Commons The main order of business is taken is:

(1) Private business (business relating to private bills).

(2) Oral questions to ministers, which occupy the first 45 to 50 minutes of every sitting day except Fridays. The prime minister has a weekly question time, on Wednesdays.

(3) Ministerial statements.

(4) Motions for adjournment under Standing Order No. 9 in order to discuss ‘a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration’ (Commons' standing orders).

(5) Matters of privilege.

(6) Formal introduction or first reading of public bills.

(7) Business motions moved by the government.

(8) Orders of the day (usually stages of bills) and motions (including proceedings on statutory instruments) in the order in which they have been arranged on the paper by the government (except on 22 Fridays when private members' business (bills and motions tabled by backbenchers) has precedence).

(9) The ‘half-hour adjournment debate’. A member, in moving the adjournment of the House, may raise a particular matter for debate.

Motions Some motions require previous notice; others may be moved without notice. As a rule, motions which relate to matters of substance require to be known beforehand. Formal or uncontentious motions do not require to be notified beforehand. General limitations on motions provide that they shall not traverse matters in which a judicial decision is pending, or (unless they propose directly to rescind the previous decision) matters already decided upon by the House in the same session; nor may a motion anticipate a matter whose future consideration by the House in the shape of a bill is already arranged.

A motion for the adjournment may be used to provide opportunity for whole-day debates on matters of topical and general interest, without the restrictions implicit in other means of proceedings; though the discussion must not deal with legislation. An adjournment motion under Standing Order No. 9 is very effective if allowed, but only about four emergency debates are held each year. The daily adjournment motion affords half an hour's debate, and is generally used to raise individual grievances.

Amendments An amendment is a subsidiary motion – a motion for fundamental or partial change in, curtailment of, or addition to a motion already before the House.

Divisions Every matter is determined upon a question put from the chair, and resolved in the affirmative or negative. If, having collected the voices on either side, the Speaker's opinion as to which side has the majority is challenged, he or she puts the question again two minutes later. If challenged a second time, he or she directs the ayes into the lobby on the right and the noes into that on the left. Members' names are recorded in the lobby by the clerks, and they are counted by the tellers (usually whips) as they leave the lobby. The tellers announce the result, which the Speaker then declares to the House.

Warning of a division is given by the ringing of bells in various parts of the House. No division is valid unless a minimum of 40 members cast their votes. A member is not obliged to vote, nor must all members who vote have heard the question put. In the event of equality, the Speaker (or chairman) gives a casting vote, usually in such a way as to give the House a further opportunity to take a decision on the matter.

Parliamentary debate The rules for the conduct of debate are as far as possible adapted to the maintenance of certain standards of behaviour and to the curtailment of unnecessary argument. The Speaker (or in committee, the Chairman of Ways and Means, or the deputy), has power in respect of any bill under consideration, either in committee of the whole House or on report, to select the amendments and new clauses to be proposed from the chair. The Speaker (or again the Chairman of Ways and Means or deputy in committee) may also (unless it is deemed an abuse of the rules of the House) accept the closure – a motion that the question under discussion be forthwith put to the decision of the House. To carry the closure it is necessary that at least 100 members should vote for it.

Except in committee of the whole House or in standing committee, no member may speak twice to the same question. Irrelevancy in debate, the reopening of matters already decided (except upon a motion to rescind the earlier decision), reflections on the sovereign or the other House, detailed allusion to debates of the current session in that House, and ‘unparliamentary expressions’ and disorderly conduct generally are matters calling for the intervention of the chair. The severest disciplinary action the Speaker can take is naming the member instead of using the customary ‘Honourable Member for . . ’ The leader of the House can then move a motion to suspend the member for a week (if it is a first offence), and increase the sentence if further offences take place.

No member is supposed to read his or her speech (though ministers often do), but the use of copious notes is customary.

Questions to ministers Written notice of intention to ask a question must, unless the Speaker gives special leave to the contrary, be given. Where an oral answer is not required, or the member is not in the House to put the question, or the question is not reached by in time and is not deferred, the minister who has to answer it has the answer printed in Hansard. Although there are limitations on the number of questions a member may table for oral answer, there is no limit on the number of questions he or she may table for written answer, and such questions are a useful means of securing information from ministers.

Opinions must not be asked, and purely legal questions are not allowed. No imputations on private character are permitted, and imputations on official character may be made only with certain reservations; neither is argument nor irony in order, but it is often introduced in the ‘supplementary’ oral question. No question can be asked about matters pending in a committee, or matters sub judice in the courts. The Speaker is sole judge of the propriety of a question. Ministers may decline to answer questions on the ground of public policy, and in any case questions to ministers must relate to their respective departments. Sometimes a question is the only way of securing redress of an individual grievance, which a member has already put before the appropriate minister without securing satisfaction.

Originally a question was asked in order to get an answer to that particular question; but today questions are often devices for further probing by means of the ‘supplementary’. The answers to questions on the order paper are prepared by civil servants, but a minister must necessarily answer ‘supplementaries’ on the spur of the moment unless his or her department has been able to anticipate the questions. However, there is no obligation to answer a supplementary.

Supply Twenty-nine days are allotted each session for the discussion of the annual estimates of expenditure presented by the civil and defence departments. The Opposition has the right to choose the estimates set down for discussion, and they generally use this right not to discuss expenditure but to raise questions of policy and administration. As the time allotted for the discussion of the estimates is limited by standing order to 29 days, many estimates involving large sums are voted without discussion. When all the estimates have been voted, they are incorporated in the annual Appropriation Bill which is passed at the end of July or the beginning of August.

Parliamentary time Only about half the time available is directly at the government's disposal for dealing with its business. Approximately a fifth is at the disposal of the Opposition (mainly its 29 supply days) and another fifth is devoted to private members' business. This leaves a small amount which the government makes available for such contingencies as emergency and censure debates, which cannot be anticipated. The allocation of time is decided partly by cooperation between the various parties in the House, but the government's power of initiative and, more particularly, its power to terminate debates through the use of closure and to impose a timetable on business, considerably strengthens its control of parliamentary time.

Legislation Bills may be public or private, the latter being required nowadays primarily for local authorities wanting additional powers to those granted under existing legislation. Private bills should not be confused with private members' bills, which are so named simply because they are not introduced by the government, but by a private member.

Public bills are considered and debated in stages as follows:

(1) First Reading. This is simply the introduction of the bill when it is normally carried without discussion and after which it is printed.

(2) Second Reading. The main principles of the bill are fully debated and difficulties of detail are noted for further discussion.

(3) Committee Stage. The bill is discussed in detail either by a general committee (formerly a standing committee – see below) or by a committee of the whole House, or more rarely by a select committee.

(4) Report Stage. The committee reports to the House and any changes in it are accepted or rejected.

(5) Third Reading. The concluding general debate at which only small verbal changes are normally agreed. The bill is then sent to the House of Lords where the legislative procedure is repeated.

Where the bill originated in the upper House the procedure is similar but reversed. Between a quarter and a third of all public bills which receive the royal assent originate in the House of Lords, though they are not usually those of greatest importance

Bills which seek to impose taxes or authorize public expenditure are known as ‘money bills’. They must be introduced first in the House of Commons by a minister of the Crown and must be preceded by the passing of a financial resolution. They may not be introduced by private members and, under the Parliament Act 1911, the House of Lords must pass such bills within one month of their being referred to the upper House, otherwise they receive the royal assent without the consent of the Lords.

Amendments by the House of Lords of a bill that has already been passed by the Commons must be subsequently approved by the latter and vice versa. In the event of disagreement discussions are held between the two Houses and, if the disagreement persists, the Commons may, under the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, override the Lords' veto.

Although private members (and private peers in the House of Lords) normally introduce more bills than the government, because of the extent to which the latter controls parliamentary time and the limited time available to private members, government legislation is far more likely to be passed. Well over 90% of government bills normally receive the royal assent, compared with 10 to 15% of private members' and private peers' bills. In a normal length session this means that approximately 60 to 80 public bills are passed, of which 15 to 20 are private members' or private peers' bills.

Private bills are subject to a separate code of regulations, in which a quasi-judicial procedure is combined with the process of passing legislation through the two Houses. Most private bills are local in extent, and deal with such matters as boundary extensions or by-law powers; or authorize public service corporations and utility undertakings to exercise financial powers or carry out specified works. A few are more personal and individual, relating to matters such as title to estates. All of them originate by petition. The procedure requires that full notice be given so that interested parties may have an opportunity to be heard, and to this end the proposals are required to be publicly advertised, detailed plans deposited for examination, and owners and occupiers affected served with due notice. These matters are governed by a timetable related to the beginning of the session and the Chairman of Ways and Means and the Lord Chairman of Committees arrange in which House a bill shall be first considered.

Private bills are read three times in each House as public bills, but this is formal unless objection is taken. On second reading the House can by resolution instruct the committee to which the bill is referred what action it shall take on specified clauses or provisions. Opposed private bills are referred to committees of four members not locally or otherwise interested, which function as semi-judicial bodies, hear counsel on behalf of the contending parties, and examine witnesses.

Private bill procedure covers also the simpler and cheaper process of provisional orders, and its modern variant under the Statutory Orders (Special Procedure) Act 1945. There is separate provision in this category for Scotland under the Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act 1936.

Delegated legislation consists of rules and regulations laid down by the Queen in council (orders in council), by ministers, by local authorities, by public corporations, and, since 1973, by various institutions of the European Union, under the authority of an act of Parliament. Orders in Council and rules and regulations made directly by ministers are known as statutory instruments and in most cases these have to be presented to or laid before Parliament.

Once laid before Parliament a statutory instrument may come into effect unless either House (or the House of Commons alone in the case of a financial order) passes a negative resolution or, alternatively, the order will come into effect only if both Houses (where appropriate) approve it by an affirmative resolution. There is a third possibility, which is that the order must be laid before Parliament, but the latter has no power to reject or approve the order and it is no longer widely used. Where an order is subject to a negative resolution there is a time limit of 40 days, excluding periods when Parliament is dissolved, prorogued, or both houses are adjourned, during which the negative resolution must be passed. Under both negative and affirmative procedure orders may be presented in draft form.

The rules regarding statutory instruments are laid down in the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. There has also been a select committee on statutory instruments in the House of Commons since 1946 (sometimes known as the Scrutiny Committee), which has the power to examine statutory instruments to ensure that they are in accordance with the enabling act of Parliament. Since 1925 the House of Lords has had a special orders committee which examines orders requiring an affirmative resolution. Both Houses have also established select committees to examine the vast number of regulations emanating from the European Economic Community and which have applied to Britain since it joined the Common Market in 1973. In practice these committees are able to examine only a small proportion of the annual output of delegated legislation.

In recent years the number of statutory instruments has been running at over 2000 a year, and this figure is far outstripped by the output of European Community regulations. In any case, the terms of reference of the committees are limited, especially with those dealing with statutory instruments, where the policies thus implemented are not open to scrutiny.

Delegated legislation has grown considerably in the 20th century, especially with increasing governmental intervention in many aspects of society such as the development of the welfare state. In bulk, delegated legislation far exceeds the annual output of acts of Parliament and as such, and because of limited parliamentary scrutiny, has been much criticized. Many observers argue that parliamentary scrutiny of delegated legislation could and should be improved, but it has also become increasingly accepted that it is a necessary part of the modern legislative process and can be justified on several grounds.

Much modern legislation deals with highly-technical matters that can be better dealt with through ministerial regulation drawn up following consultation with experts and interested parties after the broad policy has been approved by act of Parliament. Moreover, ministerial regulations provide a more flexible means of dealing with subsequent developments and evolving policy in the light of experience. Ministerial regulation also provides a useful means of dealing with emergencies. Finally, the sheer pressure of parliamentary time, no matter what reforms were instituted, makes it impossible to limit legislation to acts of Parliament or to provide opportunity to debate each and every regulation: Parliament's role in dealing with delegated legislation can only be that of the watchdog.

Parliamentary committees Parliament has long made use of committees to deal with particular types of business and to cope with an increasing volume of work. Use is also made of a committee of the whole House, which, as its name implies, consists of all members of the House, to facilitate the detailed discussion of the committee stage of bills not sent to a general committee. Historically it is said that the committee of the whole House was a device used by the Commons in particular to hold debates in the absence of the Speaker, who was sometimes suspected of being a ‘king's man’, and whose absence encouraged free debate.

Although doubt has been cast on this explanation, the fact remains that the Speaker does not preside over the committee of the whole, his or her place being taken by the deputy, the Chairman of Ways and Means, or one of the two deputy chairmen. The mace of the House of Commons is removed from the table and placed on brackets on the front of the table when the House is in committee. The principal procedural difference between the committee of the whole House and other debates is that a member may speak more than once to the same motion, thus facilitating detailed discussion of business.

Until 1966–67 certain types of financial business were dealt with in the Committee of Supply (in the case of expenditure) and in the Committee of Ways and Means (in the case of raising revenue), both of which were committees of the whole House. These two committees were abolished in 1966 and 1967 respectively.

General committees are used to deal with the committee stage of all bills, except the annual Consolidated Fund Bills (including the Appropriation Bill) and parts of the annual Finance Bill, unless the House orders otherwise. The proportion of government legislation in particular that is referred to these committees varies from session to session.

Bills of constitutional importance are usually taken in committee of the whole House so that as many members as possible have the opportunity to participate in the debate. Short, non-controversial bills of minor importance or bills requiring a speedy passage are also dealt with on the floor of the House, but the decision is frequently tactical. If the government has a heavy legislative programme it may make extensive use of general committees, but if its majority is small, perhaps entitling it to a majority of only one or two on each standing committee, it may make more use of the floor of the House, where its majority is maximized. The annual Finance Bill is divided between the committee of the whole House, which deals with clauses of wider interest and more general application, and a fairly large general committee, which deals with many of the more technical clauses.

General committees From the start of the 2006–07 parliamentary session, standing committees were renamed general committees. Their main role is to consider proposed legislation, mostly public bills, in detail. Membership is in proportion to the representation of the parties in the House (so the government always has a majority) and the interests and expertise of MPs is one of the factors taken into account in appointing members. In effect each committee is a miniature of the House of Commons, following basically the same procedures.

Each committee is presided over by a chair drawn from a panel of MPs nominated by the Speaker, who votes only in the case of a tie. Unlike select committees, these committees may not receive evidence in the form of written briefs nor hear witnesses. General committes include:

Public bill committees Public bill committees conduct detailed examination of bills before Parliament. They generally have about 17 members, although this can vary (the Committee of Selection must nominate between 16 and 50 members to serve on each committee) and its membership reflects the party composition of the House. At least one minister from the government department in charge of the bill will be on the committee, as will a front-bench spokesperson from each of the opposition parties represented. A new public bill committee is appointed for each bill and the membership of each committee is discharged when it has reported its bill to the House. There may be several public bill committees appointed at any one time and they are named after the bill that they examine.

Committees on private bills Unopposed private bills are referred to the committee on unopposed bills, which consists of the Chairman of Ways and Means, one of the deputy chairmen, and three other MPs. Opposed private bills are referred to a committee consisting of a chairman and three MPs who have no interest in the subject matter of the bill. The parties promoting and opposing the bill may be represented by counsel, evidence is given on oath, and the procedure is quasi-judicial. These committees are assisted by the Speaker's counsel and the staff of the Private Bill Office.

Delegated legislation committees These consider statutory instruments They are commonly composed of 17 members, though any Member may attend and speak (but only the original members of the committee are entitled to vote). Each committee is constituted afresh for each new item referred to it. The committee debates the instrument and reports that it has considered it: in the case of instruments subject to affirmative resolution, formal approval is normally given, without debate, in the House (usually the next day), although the House can divide and reject the instrument if it wishes.

The Grand Committees for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland These committees consist of all Scottish, Welsh, or Northern Irish MPs, plus members nominated by the House of Commons Committee of Selection. The committees may deal with ministers' questions, discuss proposals, and debate policies relating to Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. They may also consider bills before their second or third readings.

Second reading committees Second reading committees consisting of 16 to 50 members may take the second reading of a bill unless 20 members object. This facilitates the passage of unopposed and non-controversial legislation for which time may not be found on the floor of the House. Similarly, the report stage of a bill may be referred to a report committee, consisting of 16 to 50 members.

European Standing Committees European Community Documents and matters recommended by the European Scrutiny Committee for further consideration by the House are referred to one of three European Standing Committees. Each Committee is nominated for the duration of a Parliament by the Committee of Selection; the Chairman is chosen from the Chairmen's Panel and may change from sitting to sitting. The quorum is three, excluding the Chairman. Any Member of the House may attend and speak at a European Standing Committee but only members of the Committee can move a motion, vote, or be counted as part of the quorum.

Select committees House of Commons select committees are largely concerned with examining the work of government departments. Occasionally they may be appointed to take the committee stage bills which are not a matter of controversy between the parties, such as the Obscene Publications Bill 1957 or the Armed Services Bill 1966.

There is a Commons select committee for each government department, examining three aspects: spending, policies, and administration. These departmental committees, which operate less formally than general committees, have a minimum of 11 members (normally confined to back-bench MPs), who decide upon the line of inquiry and then gather written and oral evidence. Findings are reported to the Commons, and the government then usually has 60 days to reply to the committee's recommendations. Some committees have a role that crosses departmental boundaries such as the Public Accounts (see below) or Environmental Audit Committees; depending on the issue under consideration they can look at any or all of the government departments. Other committees are involved in a range of on-going investigations, such as administration of the House itself or allegations about the conduct of individual MPs. Select committees are one of Parliament's principal means of scrutinizing the activities and policies of the government.

The use of select committees is far from new: the Public Accounts Committee, which, with the aid of the comptroller and auditor-general and staff, examines the accounts of all government departments and public corporations, dates from 1861. Similarly, the Estimates Committee (later replaced by the Expenditure Committee), was first set up in 1912 to examine government expenditure. Moreover, select committees were widely used during the 19th century to investigate various matters on an ad hoc basis.

Specialized committees The present range of select committees is the result of a period of an experiment, which began very tentatively in the 1950s with the establishment of the Select Committee on Nationalized Industries, was followed by the creation of the ‘new specialized’ committees between 1966 and 1969, and culminated in 1970 with the government's Green Paper The Select Committees of the House of Commons (1970). After some problems caused by its initial terms of reference being unduly restrictive, the Nationalized Industries Committee set a precedent for the establishment of more specialized committees, while the Estimates Committee continued to demonstrate the viability of such scrutiny.

In December 1966 the first two ‘specialized’ committees were established, one a ‘subject committee’ (science and technology), and the other a ‘departmental committee’ (agriculture). The former was generally regarded as the more successful of the two, partly because the Select Committee on Agriculture insisted on investigating a number of sensitive matters and incurred the displeasure of the government. In 1969 the life of the Agriculture Committee was terminated, but in the meantime other committees were established on race relations and immigration, education and science, Scottish affairs, and overseas aid.

In 1970, however, the incoming Conservative government reviewed the role of select committees, following a report from the Select Committee on Procedure. Several of the existing committees, including the Estimates Committee, were replaced by a new Select Committee on Expenditure, which was given broader terms of reference than the Estimates Committee to enable it to examine government policy more effectively. The Expenditure Committee, which had 49 members, operated through six subcommittees, one of which is a steering committee, with the rest covering various governmental responsibilities. The select committees on nationalized industries, science and technology, race relations and immigration, and Scottish affairs were retained, since their subjects were not covered by any of the Expenditure Committee's subcommittees, while the Select Committee on Overseas Aid was allowed to complete a study it had begun before 1970.

It was intended that the latter committee would then lapse, but in 1972 it was replace by a committee on overseas development In addition to these committees there are select committees on statutory instruments and European secondary legislation, and on the Parliamentary commissioner for administration, commonly known as the ombudsman.

The functions of the House of Commons The House of Commons is a multifunctional body and, although there is some disagreement over exactly what these functions are, it can probably be agreed that the House fulfils with varying degrees of effectiveness the following functions:

(1) The House has a legislative function in that it is responsible, together with the House of Lords and, constitutionally, with the Queen, for examining and approving or disapproving all bills presented to Parliament.

(2) The House performs a representative function, both as a reflection of the will of the electorate as expressed through elections and as a body consisting of individuals representing territorial constituencies.

(3) Because all proposals for the expenditure of public money and the raising of revenue must be approved by the lower House, the House of Commons has an important financial function.

(4) The House has a scrutinizing function in that it examines and criticizes the policies and activities of the government.

(5) The House of Commons performs a recruitment function in that it is from the lower House that the majority of ministers who constitute the government are drawn, and it is the House of Commons which provides the ‘alternative government’ in the form of Her Majesty's Opposition.

How well the House of Commons performs these functions is a matter of dispute. There are some observers who regard Parliament in general and the House of Commons in particular as a talking shop reduced to impotence by the rigours of party discipline. Conversely, there are others who argue that this view ignores many of the subtleties of politics and that governments ignore Parliament at their peril. Few would argue that power resides in Parliament in the sense that Parliament decides, but it is less easy to dismiss the view that Parliament is an influential body. The House of Commons is part of the environment in which the government operates and neither controls the other: the power lies in the hands of the government, but its exercise is influenced from time to time by the activities of the House of Commons and its members.

It is also a matter of dispute what the House of Commons should do and much of the dispute revolves around arguments that MPs should be full-time, professional politicians, with adequate staff and facilities for scrutinizing the government's policies and activities, notably through powerful committees. This has been dubbed the ‘informational’ or ‘technocratic-managerial’ approach, in contrast to which there are those who argue that MPs need not be full-time and, more particularly, that the concern of Parliament should be the political battle between the parties representing different ideologies. Moreover, this battle, it is asserted, should take place not in committees, but in the chamber of the House of Commons. There is, of course, room for both points of view in that MPs are not at present forced into either mould, but such views fundamentally affect the view of what Parliament should be doing and, how, if at all, it should be changed.