Parliamentary Law Making Part 1 Influences on Parliament

Parliamentary Law Making – Part 1 Influences on Parliament

Parliamentary Law Making • Split into 3 parts: • Influences on Parliament • How Parliament makes laws • Parliamentary Supremacy

Possible Questions • Knowledge and Understanding: • Describe the influence of pressure groups on Parliament (10 marks) • Describe the influence of the media on Parliament (10 marks) • Describe the influence of the Law Commission on Parliament (10 marks) • Evaluation: • Briefly discuss advantages and disadvantages of the influence of pressure groups on Parliament (10 marks) • Briefly discuss advantages and disadvantages of the influence of the media on Parliament (10 marks) • Briefly discuss advantages and disadvantages of the influence of the Law Commission on Parliament (10 marks)

Questions • Knowledge - All 3 of these points for sound: • General description and meaning (incl. different types) • How, when and whom they can influence (differences of different types) • Examples of successful and unsuccessful campaigns • Evaluation Question • If asks for advantage and disadvantage – 2 of each, supported by examples

Pressure Groups - general • Groups of people with a shared interest in getting the government to change the law in certain areas • Sectional/Interest Pressure Groups – further the interests of their own particular section of society. Trade unions (e. g. National Union of Teachers) and professional associations (e. g. British Medical Association) • Cause Groups – promote a particular idea or belief. E. g. Greenpeace, Amnesty International • Insider Groups – have direct contact with government ministers and MPs (a lot of sectional groups) • Outsider Groups – don’t have access to decision makers and have to resort to direct action to promote their cause (e. g. Fathers 4 Justice)

How, When and Whom they can influence • Sectional • Major sectional groups like professional associations can be very influential as they represent large or powerful groups whose support the government needs to gain or retain. • Often wealthy and can afford to employ research staff and mount extensive publicity campaigns. • Likely to be consulted before Government introduces a bill affecting their interests. • Insider • Likely to be involved in drafting of a bill and may be consulted by ministers • Methods used by Pressure Groups: • Lobbying MPs which may result in consultations (insider) • Direct action - marches, demonstrations and strikes (outsider/cause) • Petitions, publicity campaigns with adverts in the media, promotional literature,

Examples of how they can influence Parliament • Sectional: • E. g. – ban on smoking in public places in July 2007 partly the result of lobbying by the British Medical Association • Cause: • E. g. – RSPCA – a long established charity that has considerable support amongst British public – has campaigned for animal welfare legislation for many years using methods such as leafleting and multimedia advertising – promoted the Animal Welfare Bill which was passed as an Act in 2006 which requires owners to provide their pets with food, water, shelter, veterinary care and freedom to move about • E. g. - Stonewall (outsider group) – successful campaign resulted in Parliament passing the Civil Partnerships Act in 2004 and legalising gay marriage in 2012 • Individuals: • E. g. Mary Whitehouse headed a campaign against child pornography which led to government introducing the Protection of Children Act 1984 • E. g. Jamie Oliver was successful in promoting healthier meals in schools – TV series devoted to the cause which gained him support from many sectional groups e. g. National Union of Teachers and British Medical Association – in 2006 the Department for Education issued The Education (Nutritional Standards for School Food) Regulations containing similar provision to those suggested by Jamie Oliver. • In Response to Specific Events: • Sometimes set up as a result of a tragic event. • E. g. The Snowdrop Campaign – set up after the Dunblane massacre in 1996 – resulted in Parliament banning the private ownership of most types of handguns

Advantages and Disadvantages of Pressure Groups Disadvantages • They are inevitably biased in favour of their interest or cause campaigns may not represent an objective, balanced argument Give the public and minorities a voice. Act as e. g. Fathers 4 Justice rarely recognise that courts are genuinely a safety valve for frustrations e. g. proattempting to achieve the best outcome for the children hunting and anti-Iraq war protests Help MPs keep in touch with what people • Some large groups which represent powerful organisations are think – e. g. pressure from environmental very influential and it is difficult for smaller groups to match groups persuaded government to change car their influence – e. g. Environmental groups claim the strength tax regulations to favour smaller more fuelof the road lobby and airline industry means new roads and efficient cars and pressure from antiairport extensions are difficult to fight smoking group ASH and doctors’ groups led to ban on smoking in public places in 2007 • Methods some groups use can be a problem – e. g. strikes and Raise public awareness of issues – e. g. protests can cause disruption. Tactics of Fathers 4 Justice have Fathers 4 Justice successful through a variety been criticised. Methods can be criminal e. g. - members of of stunts in raising awareness of plight of Countryside Alliance broke into House of Commons as part of fathers denied access to children after a divorce campaign in favour of fox hunting. Animal activists who damage scientific laboratories that experiment on animals Members have considerable expertise and can suggest detailed and well-thought-out • Groups may only represent a minority view when they are law changes. Many groups have draft Bills successful at changing the law – e. g. this was argued when the ready for backbench MPs to introduce death penalty was abolished in 1966 Advantages • •

Questions on Media • Knowledge - All 3 of the following: • What is the media? • How the media influences Parliament • Examples of the media influencing Parliament • Evaluation Question • If asks for advantage and disadvantage – 2 of each, supported by examples

What is the Media? • Television • Radio • Newspapers • Internet • Can represent public opinion and influence public opinion • All play a powerful role in bringing issues to the attention of the government • Media can also be used by pressure groups to highlight their interest or cause

How Media can influence Parliament • Campaigns, regular articles, features, • E. g. Daily Mail – often run headlines on immigration or asylum issues to try and achieve tighter controls • E. g. The Sun – consistently campaigns against what it sees as the growing influence of the EU on British life • Investigative Journalism • Panorama (TV programme) – often draws attention to abuses or scandals

Examples of how Media has Influenced Parliament • News of the World - Name and Shame Campaign – following the murder of Sarah Payne by a paedophile, it published details of known paedophiles. This forced the government to take action because the population was becoming increasingly alarmed by the revelations and there was also the worry of people being harmed by the public led to Child Sex offender Disclosure Scheme – People can apply to police to find out if an identified person who has contact with children is on Sex Offenders Register (police can refuse) • Daily Telegraph – Politicians Expenses Exposure - played an important part in bringing about reform of the MPs expenses rules when it published details in 2009 showing what expenses some MPs were claiming. Led to Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority which limits what Politicians can claim expenses for and oversees their claims. Also led to several resignations of worst offenders.

Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages Disadvantages • Plays a powerful role in brining issues to the attention of Parliament or government and can force it to act – e. g. Daily Telegraph and MP expenses and News of the World and register of sex offenders • Coverage in newspapers and television/radio can raise the public profile of an issue and add weight to public opinion – this makes the government feel pressured to make legislative reforms – government is ultimately answerable to the electorate and fears losing favour with the public as this could lead to defeat in an election • Can help the success of pressure groups – e. g. Snowdrop campaign was publicised in the Daily Mail and television channels which helped them share their concerns with the government and the public • Ownership of British newspapers and other branches of the media is in the hands of a relatively small number of individuals • Newspapers often adopt views that reflect those of their owners – e. g. Rupert Murdoch who owns The Sun, The Times, the Sunday Times and Sky television – has used these to project his own views, particularly his strong opposition to the EU • Concern about the link between the media and politicians – e. g. the appointment of Andy Coulson, former News of the World editor, as David Cameron’s director of communications in 2007 and the social contacts between David Cameron and Rebekah Brooks when she was editor of News of the World • Newspapers are in business to make a profit and will publish material that will sell copies - have a tendency to create panics by drawing attention to and often exaggerating issues, such as activities of paedophiles. Media may sometimes whip up public opinion, which can result in unwise legislation – arguably the case with the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

Questions • Knowledge - Any 3 of: • • • What the Law Commission is and its aims Codification (including example) Consolidation (including example) Repeal (including example) Process of Law Commission investigations • Evaluation Question • If asks for advantage and disadvantage – 2 of each, supported by examples

What is the Law Commission and what is its aim? • Established by the Law Commission Act 1965 • Permanent and independent • A full-time staff headed up by five Commissioners • Chairperson is a High Court Judge – responsible for promoting the work of the Commission and is its public face and voice • Other four members are from the legal professions and academic lawyers • All staff are legally trained • Aims - S 3(1) Law Commission Act 1965 – role of Commission is to “keep under review all the law” – includes codification and consolidation, repealing obsolete law, simplification and modernisation of law

How the Law Commission Influences Parliament – Codification • Codification is bringing together all of the law (both statutory and judgement) on a particular topic into a single Act of Parliament • Draft Criminal Code was published in 1989 but has never become law • Commission has gradually accepted that its initial plans were overambitious and that codification of smaller areas is preferable • More recently, the Commission has selected areas of law and clarified them hoping to codify them at a later date • E. g. The Land Registration Act 2002 and the Fraud Act 2006 have been reformed in this way

How the Law Commission Influences Parliament – Consolidation • Drawing together all the statutory provisions relating to a particular area into one Act • About 5 Consolidation Bills produced each year • E. g. – Education Act 1996 and The Powers of Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000

How the Law Commission Influences Parliament – Repeal • Recommends the repeal of obsolete statutes – removing laws that have no further use • Important to remove these Acts as they make research of the law more time-consuming and cause confusion • Statute Law (Repeals) Bill in 2012 recommended the repeal of nearly 800 old laws

The Process of Law Commission Investigations • Commission has topics referred to it by government departments, or may select a topic of its own, which will be considered after the government has approved • Pressure to investigate an area of law may also come from other sources – e. g. Criminal Attempts Act 1981 was a result of a Law Commission report prompted by academic pressure • Process: • Research of the issue • Produce a working paper setting out the current law, the problems, and suggestions for reform • Consultations with anyone interested in commenting on the issue • Produce a report including a draft Bill • Government decides whether to introduce the draft Bill into Parliament and implement the recommendations • E. g. – legislation which has resulted from this process includes the Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996

Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages • A permanent non-political full-time body and can investigate any area of law it believes to be in need of reform – independent of the Government • Produces draft Bills ready for Parliament to introduce – reduces the workload for ministers • Responsible for many sensible changes to the law – e. g. Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, the Fraud Act 2006 and the abolition of the ‘Year and a Day’ rule • Can undertake extensive research and engage in wide consultation so its recommendations for law reform are well informed and this helps avoid problems with the application of the law Disadvantages • Parliament has often ignored the Commission’s proposals - only about two thirds of its proposals have been implemented – often because governments cannot find time in the legislative programme for non-urgent law reform – e. g. reform of the law on nonfatal offences – recommended by the Law Commission in a report in 1993 and accepted by the Labour government of 1997 who produced a draft Bill in 1998 but they never implemented it • Further lack of power shown by the fact that Government does not need to consult with the Commission on any new laws • Investigates as many as 20 -30 areas at the same time – may mean that each investigation is not as thorough as one carried out by a Royal Commission or a Commission of Inquiry