A Question of Expertise
The House of Lords and Welfare Policy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6311335 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Hugh Bochel (0000-0003-4580-6035), Andrew Defty (0000-0001-7627-003X) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 66-84 |
| Publication date | 2010-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Parliamentary Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-2290 • E-ISSN: 1460-2482 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/pa/gsp019 |
| OpenAlex | W2025548283 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 1 |
The expertise of its members is often cited as one of the distinctive features of the House of Lords. In particular it is frequently argued that because of its composition, and in particular the existence of the Crossbench Peers, debates in the Lords are more informed than in the Commons. Peers, it has been claimed, bring professional experience and expertise to the scrutiny of legislation, and have the time to maintain their expertise, in contrast to the Commons, where MPs, because of the demands of re-election and constituency business, are sometimes seen as being required to know a little about a wide range of subjects. Moreover, the presumed expertise of the Upper House has also been central to debates about the reform of the House of Lords, with assertions that any further reform should retain the Lords’ ability to provide distinctive and informed scrutiny. \n \nDrawing on a series of interviews with a large sample of MPs and Peers this article seeks to examine what is meant by parliamentary expertise by focusing on one particular policy area – welfare. It seeks to explore the nature of parliamentary expertise on welfare in both Houses, and suggests that in the field of welfare the Upper House may, in fact, be less expert than the House of Commons
Commons · House of Commons · Law and economics · Legislation · Parliament · Political science · Politics · Scrutiny · Sociology · Welfare · Welfare reform · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Political Systems and Governance · Public Administration · Scottish History and National Identity
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| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,36 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2025 (14) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |