How does the UK Parliament make law and hold the government to account, and how effective is it?
Parliament: the composition and functions of the House of Commons and House of Lords, the legislative process, and how effectively Parliament scrutinises the executive.
A WJEC AS Unit 1 study of the UK Parliament: the composition and functions of the House of Commons and House of Lords, how a bill becomes law, the scrutiny role of select committees and questions, and debates about how effectively Parliament checks the government.
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What this dot point is asking
This WJEC AS topic asks you to explain the composition and functions of the two Houses of Parliament, how legislation is made, and to evaluate how effectively Parliament holds the government to account. You need confident detail on the Commons and the Lords, the legislative process, and the tools and limits of scrutiny.
The answer
The House of Commons
Because the government is normally formed by the party with a Commons majority, the Commons both sustains and is meant to check the executive, a tension at the heart of Unit 1.
The House of Lords
The Lords revises and improves legislation, scrutinises government, and provides expertise, but it cannot ultimately block most legislation. Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 it can delay non-financial bills for about a year but not veto them, and by the Salisbury convention it does not block measures from the governing party's manifesto.
How a bill becomes law
A government bill normally passes through both Houses in stages: first reading (formal introduction), second reading (debate on principle), committee stage (detailed line-by-line scrutiny), report stage (consideration of amendments), and third reading. It then goes to the other House, where the process is repeated, before receiving royal assent and becoming an Act. Bills can start in either House (except money bills, which start in the Commons).
Scrutiny of the executive
Parliament holds the government to account through several tools.
- Select committees. Departmental committees of backbench MPs question ministers and officials and publish reports; they are widely seen as the most effective scrutiny tool.
- Questions. Prime Minister's Questions, departmental question times, and urgent questions force ministers to answer publicly.
- Debates. Set-piece and opposition-day debates allow scrutiny of policy.
- The Lords. Revising amendments and expert scrutiny can force the government to reconsider.
How effective is scrutiny?
The tools are real, but their effect is limited by executive dominance. A government with a secure Commons majority, backed by the whip system and control of the parliamentary timetable, can usually pass its programme. Scrutiny bites most when majorities are small, when backbenchers rebel, or when the Lords inflicts defeats, which the Commons can ultimately overturn.
Examples in context
Scrutiny that works and its limits. Select committees show Parliament at its most effective: their cross-party reports can embarrass ministers and shape policy, drawing on expert evidence outside the whipped chamber. Yet the same Parliament shows the limits of scrutiny when a government with a large majority uses the whip and timetable to pass contested legislation despite opposition. The contrast captures the essay's core tension: Parliament has genuine scrutiny machinery, but the executive usually retains the upper hand.
Try this
Q1. How many MPs sit in the House of Commons, and how are they elected? [2 marks]
- Cue. 650 MPs, each elected for one constituency by first-past-the-post.
Q2. Name two ways the powers of the House of Lords are limited. [2 marks]
- Cue. The Parliament Acts (delay not veto) and the Salisbury convention (does not block manifesto measures).
Q3. To what extent does Parliament effectively scrutinise the executive? [25 marks]
- What the marker wants. A judgement weighing select committees, questions and the Lords against executive dominance and the whip system.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC AS Unit 110 marksExplain the main functions of the House of Commons.Show worked answer →
A short-answer question testing AO1 knowledge of Parliament.
Main functions include: legislating (debating and passing bills into Acts), representation (MPs represent constituents and the nation), scrutiny of the executive (through questions such as Prime Minister's Questions, debates and select committees), legitimation (granting consent to government and to taxation), and providing the personnel of government (most ministers are MPs).
The best answers explain each function with an example, for example naming select committees as the key scrutiny tool, rather than listing functions without illustration.
WJEC AS Unit 120 marksTo what extent does Parliament effectively scrutinise the executive?Show worked answer →
An extended evaluation requiring a balanced judgement.
Case for effective scrutiny: departmental select committees question ministers and produce influential reports; Prime Minister's Questions and urgent questions expose ministers publicly; the House of Lords revises legislation and can force the government to think again; backbench rebellions and defeats do occur.
Case for weak scrutiny: a government with a large Commons majority can usually get its way; the whip system limits backbench independence; the executive controls the timetable; and the Lords is unelected so its power is limited by convention.
The top band weighs the tools of scrutiny against executive dominance and concludes with a supported judgement.
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