How do MPs hold government to account?
In the Chamber
The House of Commons Chamber is the public arena where government ministers explain and account for their decisions in person. Most sitting days begin with an hour of MPs’ questions to ministers. This is often followed by the appearance of a specific minister to respond to an urgent matter raised by an MP, or to update the House on an aspect of the government’s work, and to answer any questions from MPs that arise from it.
Ministerial Question Time
Government ministers attend the Chamber on a rota basis to answer MPs’ questions on matters for which they are responsible. Ministerial question times take up the first hour of each sitting day, Monday to Thursday. Questions asked in the Chamber can be used by MPs to query the details of a government policy, press for more action or secure a commitment from a minister, and ensure the response is on the record.
The most high-profile of these question sessions takes place on Wednesdays, when the Prime Minister comes to the Chamber to answer questions from the Leader of the Opposition and other MPs at Prime Minister's Questions.
For more information about question time in the Chamber, see: Question Time. To see the rota of government departments appearing at upcoming ministerial question times, see: Oral questions rota.
Urgent questions and ministerial statements
Ministers appear regularly in the Commons Chamber to keep the House informed of any important decisions or events, by delivering a statement in person so that MPs can question them about it afterwards.
Ministerial statements put the government’s position on the public record. In the exchanges that follow, MPs can challenge the government’s approach, ask for further clarification or obtain more detail. They can also raise any concerns about the impact on their own constituents.
Read more about ministerial statements.
If an issue is considered to be of importance or urgency, an MP can ask the Speaker to summon a minister to the Chamber to make a statement that day in response to events, and to stay afterwards to answer questions on it. This is described in the Commons as an Urgent Question.
Urgent Questions allow MPs to find out how the government are responding to current events or incidents, and to press for more government action if they feel it is necessary.
Read more about urgent questions.
Scrutiny work outside the Chamber
In Committee
In the House of Commons, committees are appointed to monitor the work, plans and spending of each of the departments of government. These committees, (known as departmental select committees), have the power to request any information they feel is needed from the department in order to scrutinise its work. They can also summon ministers and officials for questioning at a public hearing.
Select committees can choose to investigate any issue that falls within the department’s area of responsibility and can select the people they wish to hear from to inform their inquiry. Hearing from a range of witnesses with knowledge or experience of a particular government service may uncover evidence with which the committee can challenge the official assurances given by the department.
While the recommendations made by a committee are not binding on a government, the public hearings held by departmental select committees are often seen as one of Parliament’s most effective tools for ensuring ministers and officials are held accountable for their decisions.
Read more about select committees.
Written parliamentary questions
MPs can expect a full and timely response to any question they put in writing to a minister about their department’s work.
MPs can use written parliamentary questions to obtain data or detail about the government’s activities: this can help the House to follow up on commitments made by ministers in the Chamber. All written questions and answers are published online so that MPs can use them to inform future exchanges with ministers.
