Parliamentary scrutiny and government accountability

Since its inception, the Hansard Society has made many influential recommendations for improving parliamentary scrutiny. Recent research has built on this work and we continue to identify cases for change.

• Our project to analyse the relationship between Parliament, government and public money looked at how the present system of financial scrutiny can be strengthened. The Fiscal Maze (2006) argues that Parliament could and should do more to secure full financial accountability from government. This report won runner up publication at Prospect Magazine’s annual Think Tank of the Year awards.
• New Politics, New Parliament? (2005) is a review of parliamentary modernisation since 1997. The report analyses the changes that have occurred since 1997, exploring in particular the impact that the reforms have had on the relationship between Parliament and the executive, and proposes potential next steps for parliamentary reform.
• Parliamentary Affairs is published by the Oxford University Press in partnership with the Hansard Society. It is an established, peer reviewed academic quarterly covering all the aspects of government and politics directly or indirectly connected with Parliament and parliamentary systems in Britain and throughout the world. http://pa.oxfordjournals.org