In July 2012, the House agreed to allow debates on Government e-petitions to take place on Mondays in Westminster Hall, on a trial basis during the current session. Three debates have taken place during the session, with a fourth scheduled on the day of publication of this report (22 April 2013). The Government's e-petitions website continues to be popular, and a dedicated slot in Westminster Hall on Monday afternoon provides a clear end-point for the process. The Procedure Committee agrees with the Backbench Business Committee that the trial has been successful and recommends that the temporary changes to the Standing Orders be made permanent.

Whilst the Government's initiative of e-petitions is welcome in principle, there have been some practical problems with its operation. In this report two areas which need urgent attention have been addressed, the time for debate and public understanding of the process.The Committee recommends that a dedicated time slot be created for debates on subjects that are raised by e-petitions and propose that this is an extra sitting in Westminster Hall between 4.30 and 7.30 pm on a Monday. This would only take place if the Backbench Business Committee had scheduled a debate on the subject of an e-petition. This change would be experimental and its effectiveness be reviewed after one year.Many of the problems experienced by the Backbench Business Committee and by petitioners have arisen from a failure on the part of the Government to adequately explain the process to petitioners. The Committee recommends that the information on the Government's website should be made clearer and more accurate. When a petition has been signed by 100,000 people, the lead petitioner should be advised to find an MP who is willing to apply to the Backbench Business Committee for time for debate

A fresh perspective on an ancient institution; Exploring Parliament offers an engaging and real-life insight into the inner workings, impact, and relevance of twenty-first century Parliament. Short academic and practitioner chapters are combined with highly relevant and practical case studies, to provide a new and accessible introduction to Parliament's structures, people, and practices. As well as covering the broader structure of UK Parliament, this text explains the role of small parties in law making, the design and space of Parliament, and offers illuminating case studies on highly topical areas such as the Backbench Business Committee, the Hillsborough Inquiry and recent pieces of legislation such as the Assisted Dying Bill. This text is complemented by the following online resources for students and lecturers: - Video tours of Parliament - Podcasts to explain and explore the work of Parliament - Web links to help students to explore Parliament even further

Vicky Beeching, called “arguably the most influential Christian of her generation” in The Guardian, began writing songs for the church in her teens. By the time she reached her early thirties, Vicky was a household name in churches on both sides of the pond. Recording multiple albums and singing in America’s largest megachurches, her music was used weekly around the globe and translated into numerous languages. But this poster girl for evangelical Christianity lived with a debilitating inner battle: she was gay. The tens of thousands of traditional Christians she sang in front of were unanimous in their view – they staunchly opposed same-sex relationships and saw homosexuality as a grievous sin. Vicky knew if she ever spoke up about her identity it would cost her everything. Faced with a major health crisis, at the age of thirty-five she decided to tell the world that she was gay. As a result, all hell broke loose. She lost her music career and livelihood, faced threats and vitriol from traditionalists, developed further health issues from the immense stress, and had to rebuild her life almost from scratch. But despite losing so much she gained far more: she was finally able to live from a place of wholeness, vulnerability, and authenticity. She finally found peace. What’s more, Vicky became a champion for others, fighting for LGBT equality in the church and in the corporate sector. Her courageous work is creating change in the US and the UK, as she urges people to celebrate diversity, live authentically, and become undivided.

This collection of essays by leading academics, lawyers, parliamentarians and parliamentary officials provides a critical assessment of the UK Parliament's two main constitutional roles-as a legislature and as the preeminent institution for calling government to account. Both functions are undergoing change and facing new challenges. Part 1 (Legislation) includes chapters on Parliament's emerging responsibilities for pre-legislative scrutiny of government Bills and for evaluating proposed legislation against explicit constitutional standards. The impact on legislation of the European Union and the growing influence of the House of Lords are also examined. Part 2 (Accountability) investigates how Parliament operates to scrutinise areas of executive action previously often shielded from effective parliamentary oversight, including national security, war-making powers and administrative justice. There are also chapters on parliamentary reform, including analysis of the House of Commons 'Wright reforms', parliamentary sovereignty, privilege and the European Convention on Human Rights, Euroscepticism, and parliamentary sovereignty and the regulation of lobbyists. The book will be of interest to anyone who is curious about the work of Parliament and is aimed at legal academics, practitioners and political scientists.

The public will be able to petition the House of Commons electronically for the first time, under proposals published by the House of Commons Procedure Committee today. The system the Committee puts forward is based on the existing Government e-petition site, redesigned and rebranded to show that it is jointly run between the House of Commons and the Government. Crucially, it will be backed by the establishment of a new Petitions Committee, which will be able to hear petitioners' concerns and scrutinise the Government's response. The Petitions Committee will consider both e-petitions and paper petitions presented under the existing procedures. When it identifies a petition meriting further action, it will be able to: correspond with petitioners on their petition; call petitioners for oral evidence; refer a petition to the relevant select committee; seek further information from the Government, orally or in writing, on the subject of a petition; and put forward petitions for debate in the House

- Includes all core and non-core political ideas, with key thinkers integrated throughout the text - Provides complete guidance to the Global route of the specification - Strengthens understanding by interweaving both historical context and contemporary examples into the text - Builds confidence by highlighting key terms and explaining links between different topics in the specification - Provides opportunities to test progress with quick knowledge-check questions - Develops analysis and evaluation skills with 'stretch and challenge' activities and suggestions for targeted further reading