Notes: Lecture 10 - Sat Feb 5, 2010

 

Scrutiny of the Executive By Parliament:

One of the most important functions of a legislature is to scrutinize the activities of the executive. The legislature scrutinizes legislative proposals from the executive through the committee system. The day to day policies of the executive is scrutinized by parliament in a number ways, especially by posing questions to specific ministers about various activities that are taking place in their ministries. The best know of all these processes is the Prime Minister’s question time.

Question Time

This is the principle means by which the public and the parliament obtains information of and inputs into actions by the executive.

Three times a week, for about an hour a day, Ministers from several departments are asked to answer questions at least once every three or four weeks. Members wishing to answer questions about governmental action must submit the questions three days before hand. This will give adequate notice to the minister to prepare their answers. The answers may be put to the minister for an oral or a written response. Currently about 15-20 questions are answered orally each day.

Prime Minister’s Questions

This takes place on Wednesday’s for 30 minutes. Ministers that wish to ask questions have the questions put on the order paper for the day. They can be as many as 100 questions. Members are allowed 2 supplementary questions on any matter under which the prime minister has responsibility. The supplementary questions are not publicized and they provide an opportunity for the minister to ask difficult or potentially embarrassing questions which the prime minister has to demonstrate his mastery of the various issues facing his government. The questions tend to focus on broader issues of government policy in relation to the economy or foreign affairs. Questions that are two specific are better answered by the sector ministers The leader of the opposition does not table questions, but is allowed up to six questions to the prime minister on virtually any aspect of government policy. It is televised. Thus there is often a direct confrontation between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.

One commentator describes the confrontation as follows:

“...here is experienced the direct confrontation of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in its most concentrated and highly charged form. It is an opportunity no leader of the opposition can afford to neglect. It is also the occasion when the prime minister can be most critically tested, and various commentators or experienced observers have testified to how carefully the prime minister has to prep for this ordeal. Success or failure on these occasions can greatly strengthen or seriously weaken the political standing of the two protagonists.

There are certain kinds of questions that are typically not allowed to be asked when the minister or the prime minister is being questioned. These include questions on the following items.

Questions on the queen, or on matters in which the prime minister has given advice to the crown, and questions concerning the exercise of some of the queen’s prerogative powers.

Questions on local authorities, the internal affairs of other countries, questions aiming to criticize judges, questions concerning cases that are currently being heard, and questions posed in “unparliamentary language”. E.g. if you call another member of parliament “ a liar”, that is unparliamentary language and the speaker may ask you to withdraw the expression and or apologize. Also, a member cannot mention another member by name when he is speaking, only by constituency. It is also not permitted to comment on the absence of a member of the parliament from the house.