UK Government and Politics Assessment Sheet

Title of Essay: Discuss the extent to which different legislatures control the work of the executive.
Date of Essay: 19/4

1 Independent Learning
How many articles did you read and which ones?
PR15N2 – Oversight and scrutiny
PR16N2

Did you read any books? If so, which ones?
Heywood Chapter 16 – Assemblies

Did you use any other resources, e.g. the internet? If so, which ones?
Class notes

How long did you spend PREPARING your essay? (Be honest!)
10 -15minutes
2 Completing your Essay
How much time did you spend WRITING your essay? (Again, be honest!)
Under an hour

Did you encounter any SPECIFIC problems? Give details.

3 Action Points after Feedback

4 Teacher …show more content…
Following their recommendations to the president, it would be unwise for the president to ignore them. An example of congressional committees exercising their power can be seen through the use of subpoenas such as the one issued to the BP chairman over the Gulf oil spill. Nevertheless, despite this Congress has lost some of its influence in the modern period. Following the New Deal, the US public, as well as Congress itself, has looked to the White House for political leadership. The main burden of Congress’ work is therefore to examine the president’s legislative programme, weakening Congress’s role as a policy initiator, and has led to a situation in which ‘the president proposes and Congress disposes’. Even during Gingrich’s ‘Contract with America’ where Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress during 2002-6, few checks were imposed on presidential power, particularly over foreign issues. On the other hand, in Britain committees lack the power that congressional committees have. They also lack the same degree of specialism, with ad hoc committees lacking in their ability to control the executive. Despite their largely unanimous rulings, government can refuse to implement their reports. This was most recently seen in the Public Accounts committee criticising the promotion of Lin Homer to Chief Executive of HMRC despite her failings as Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency and also its criticisms on the wasteful spending by the Defence