Source of Authority

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Dear House of Commons,

Legislation claims its authority in its title page as:

"Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows"

1 - Is the House of Commons expressed as the 'Commons' in Acts of Parliament?
2 - Assuming 1 is correct your claim of authority is expressed as 'of the same'. Can you confirm if this means self proclaimed authority?
If not, please provide documentary evidence of the source of the claimed authority.
3 - Are MP's are acting in their private capacity, filling the public offices of a 'Member of Parliament' where they are granted duties, rights and obligations from a source authority?
4 - Do all the MP's together make up the 'Commons'?
5 - Please provide the source document of each MP's source of authority, clearly showing how their claimed duties, rights and obligations are created, and
6 - Within those source of authority documents, please direct me to where powers are conferred therein granting the expressed rights to create 'Primary Legislation', and
7 - Please provide the source document that authorises those MP's to create obligations on the public without their consent.

8 - My research shows that the Bill of Rights 1688 is the source document which creates the authority of 'Parliament Assembled', where the governing bloodline was changed from Jame II to William and Mary of Orange and their successors who still are the source of authority today. Is this correct?

Yours faithfully,

Marc Horn

FOI Commons, House of Commons

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Horn,

 

Thank you for your request for information dated 27 July 2022, copied
below.

 

We will endeavour to respond to your request promptly but in any case
within 20 working days i.e. on or before 25 August 2022.

 

If you have any queries about your request, please use the request number
quoted in the subject line of this email.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Rights Officer
House of Commons Information Compliance Team
House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, London SW1A 0AA 
[1]parliament.uk
[2][IMG]

[3]House of Commons Privacy Notice for the public

[4]Supporting a thriving parliamentary democracy

 

From: Marc Horn <[FOI #882463 email]>
Sent: 27 July 2022 14:07
To: FOI Commons <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Source of Authority

 

Dear House of Commons,

Legislation claims its authority in its title page as:

"Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the
advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in
this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
follows"

1 - Is the House of Commons expressed as the 'Commons' in Acts of
Parliament?

2 - Assuming 1 is correct your claim of authority is expressed as 'of the
same'. Can you confirm if this means self proclaimed authority?

If not, please provide documentary evidence of the source of the claimed
authority.

3 - Are MP's are acting in their private capacity, filling the public
offices of a 'Member of Parliament' where they are granted duties, rights
and obligations from a source authority?

4 - Do all the MP's together make up the 'Commons'?

5 - Please provide the source document of each MP's source of authority,
clearly showing how their claimed duties, rights and obligations are
created, and

6 - Within those source of authority documents, please direct me to where
powers are conferred therein granting the expressed rights to create
'Primary Legislation', and

7 - Please provide the source document that authorises those MP's to
create obligations on the public without their consent.

8 - My research shows that the Bill of Rights 1688 is the source document
which creates the authority of 'Parliament Assembled', where the governing
bloodline was changed from Jame II to William and Mary of Orange and their
successors who still are the source of authority today. Is this correct?

Yours faithfully,

Marc Horn

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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show quoted sections

FOI Commons, House of Commons

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Horn,

 

 

Freedom of Information Request F22-404

 

Thank you for your request for information as copied below. You asked the
House of Commons eight questions regarding Acts of Parliament.

 

Please note in the first instance that the Freedom of Information Act 2000
only entitles you to access recorded information held by the House of
Commons. It does not oblige us to carry out legal analysis on these
records or provide legal advice.    

 

 1. Is the House of Commons expressed as the 'Commons' in Acts of
Parliament?

 

This question is not a request for recorded information, instead you ask
for a legal interpretation of wording of Acts of Parliament which, as we
explained above, we are not obliged to provide.  We can only suggest you
consult a solicitor, barrister or other legal professional who may be able
to answer this question.

 

However, it may help you to know that Acts of Parliament are published in
full by the National Archives on the Legislation website at:
[1]https://www.legislation.gov.uk/.

 

 2. Assuming 1 is correct your claim of authority is expressed as 'of the
same'. Can you confirm if this means self proclaimed authority?  If
not, please provide documentary evidence of the source of the claimed
authority.

 

This question is predicated on an answer to question 1 which we cannot
provide.  It is also asking for a legal interpretation and confirmation of
wording of Acts of Parliament which, as we explained above, we are not
obliged to provide. 

 

Again, we can only suggest you consult a solicitor, barrister or other
legal professional who may be able to answer your questions about the law.

 

 3. Are MP's are acting in their private capacity, filling the public
offices of a 'Member of Parliament' where they are granted duties,
rights and obligations from a source authority?

 

We have interpreted your request to be for information about the election
of a person to be a Member of Parliament.  Whilst the House of Commons
holds this information, information on the roles, duties and employment of
Members is publicly available and this information is therefore exempt
from disclosure in accordance with section 21(1) and (2)(a) of the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), which removes a public authority from the
obligation to provide access to information which is already in the public
domain.  This is an absolute exemption and the public interest test does
not apply.

 

It may help you to know however that it is for each of the 650 MPs to
decide for themselves which issues they undertake, including whether to
reply to correspondence or provide assistance when requested. Furthermore,
the Parliament website has a number of pages on this topic which you may
find helpful, and these include, including:

• How MPs are elected:
[2]https://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-...
• Details of what Members do:
[3]https://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-...
• Details of what Members can do for their constituents:
[4]https://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-...
• How MPs raise matters in the House:
[5]https://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-....

 

You will see that the description of the work MPs do is expressed in terms
of what they can do rather than what they must do. Each MP therefore has
discretion to decide exactly how they can best represent their
constituency and then be accountable for that when there is an election.

 

Lastly, the House also holds a leaflet on this topic which you may also
find helpful, and this can be found at:
[6]https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/d....

 

 4. Do all the MP's together make up the 'Commons'?

 

The House of Commons does not hold a definitive interpretation of the
meaning of “the Commons”. 

 

It may help you to know that several meanings are often used in the
records we hold. Examples of these in our records are as follows:

 

• The House of Commons as an institution, sometimes known as the House
Administration, consists of those employed to provide a politically
impartial service to MPs so they are able to carry out their duties.
The House Administration consists of a number of core teams and
offices, and more information on these teams and their duties can be
found at:
[7]https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-....
• The House of Commons as a collection of physical offices and buildings
on the parliamentary estate, including parts of the Palace of
Westminster. An example of a record which contains this descriptor can
be found here: [8]https://www.parliament.uk/visiting/access/.
• The House of Commons is also sometimes used as a term which refers to
many or all of the 650 MPs elected to represent their constituents. 
An example of a record which contains this descriptor can be found
here:  [9]https://www.parliament.uk/business/commo....

There are also a number of other pages on our website on how Parliament
functions which you may find helpful, and these are as follows:

• An overview of how Parliament works can be found here:
[10]https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/.
• More specific information on the direct role of Parliament can be
found at: [11]https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/role/.
• The Parliament website also holds a booklet with more detail on this
topic ([12]How the UK Parliament works - UK Parliament) which you may
also find helpful.

 

 5. Please provide the source document of each MP's source of authority,
clearly showing how their claimed duties, rights and obligations are
created, and

and

 6. Within those source of authority documents, please direct me to where
powers are conferred therein granting the expressed rights to create
'Primary Legislation', and

and

 7. Please provide the source document that authorises those MP's to
create obligations on the public without their consent.

 

We have interpreted your request to mean a specific constitutional
document which sets out this information.

 

This information is not held by the House of Commons. This is because the
United Kingdom does not have a single ‘source document’ or formal written
constitution.  Rather, the authority of the House of Commons has evolved
over many hundreds of years, and information relevant to your request is
likely to appear in many legal documents and Acts.

 

However, to fully identify every piece of legislation relevant to your
request, expert legal advice would be required. As we have already advised
you, the duty of the House of Commons to disclose information does not
extend to its having to first carry out this analysis on all legislation
held. In addition, whilst it is part of Parliament’s role to debate and
approve new laws, it is up to the courts to decide how the law applies in
any particular case because there may be more considerations that must be
taken into account other than the text of the statute, such as the body of
precedents comprising the common law and the effect of other UK
statutes.   We do not provide legal advice to requesters, so to identify
the exact legislation you require, we suggest that a solicitor, barrister
or other suitably qualified legal professional should be able to help you
further.

 

It may help you to know that we publish some general information about the
powers of Parliament on our website, and we hope the information in the
links below is useful:

 

• Parliamentary sovereignty:
[13]https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/role....
• Core constitutional changes from 1911:
[14]https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/res....
• An academic paper “Mapping the Path to Codifying - or not Codifying -
the UK's Constitution”:
[15]https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm....

 

 8. My research shows that the Bill of Rights 1688 is the source document
which creates the authority of 'Parliament Assembled', where the
governing bloodline was changed from Jame II to William and Mary of
Orange and their successors who still are the source of authority
today. Is this correct?

 

As stated above, please note that the FOIA only entitles you to recorded
information held at the time of a request, and we are not obliged to
provide explanations, confirmations or judgements that are not otherwise
recorded. We are therefore unable to help you with your request in this
instance.

 

It may help you to know however that the Parliament website has a lot of
information on this topic. A links on how parliament works were provided
to you in our response to Question 4, and we also host a number of pages
on the development of Parliament since its inception which can be found on
the following webpages:

• Details on the Origins of Parliament:
[16]https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-h....
• A greater overview of the evolution and development of Parliament,
including development of parliamentary authority and legislative
authority:
[17]https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-h....

 

Lastly, we recognise that your request may also be referring to “the
Crown”, and it may help you to know that the House holds a research
briefing on the Crown and its place within the constitution of the United
Kingdom; this can be found at:
[18]https://researchbriefings.files.parliame...

 

 

You may, if dissatisfied with the handling of your request, complain to
the House of Commons. Alternatively, if you are dissatisfied with the
outcome of your request you may ask the House of Commons to conduct an
internal review of any decision regarding your request.  Complaints or
requests for internal review should be addressed to: Information Rights
and Information Security Service, Research & Information Team, House of
Commons, London SW1A 0AA or [19][House of Commons request email].  Please ensure
that you specify the full reasons for your complaint or internal review
along with any arguments or points that you wish to make.

 

If you remain dissatisfied, you may appeal to the Information Commissioner
at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF,
[20]https://ico.org.uk/.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Information Rights Officer
House of Commons Information Compliance Team
House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, London SW1A 0AA 
[21]parliament.uk
[22][IMG]

[23]House of Commons Privacy Notice for the public

[24]Supporting a thriving parliamentary democracy

 

From: Marc Horn <[25][FOI #882463 email]>
Sent: 27 July 2022 14:07
To: FOI Commons <[26][email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Source of Authority

 

Dear House of Commons,

Legislation claims its authority in its title page as:

"Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the
advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in
this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as
follows"

1 - Is the House of Commons expressed as the 'Commons' in Acts of
Parliament?

2 - Assuming 1 is correct your claim of authority is expressed as 'of the
same'. Can you confirm if this means self proclaimed authority?

If not, please provide documentary evidence of the source of the claimed
authority.

3 - Are MP's are acting in their private capacity, filling the public
offices of a 'Member of Parliament' where they are granted duties, rights
and obligations from a source authority?

4 - Do all the MP's together make up the 'Commons'?

5 - Please provide the source document of each MP's source of authority,
clearly showing how their claimed duties, rights and obligations are
created, and

6 - Within those source of authority documents, please direct me to where
powers are conferred therein granting the expressed rights to create
'Primary Legislation', and

7 - Please provide the source document that authorises those MP's to
create obligations on the public without their consent.

8 - My research shows that the Bill of Rights 1688 is the source document
which creates the authority of 'Parliament Assembled', where the governing
bloodline was changed from Jame II to William and Mary of Orange and their
successors who still are the source of authority today. Is this correct?

Yours faithfully,

Marc Horn

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:

[27][FOI #882463 email]

Is [28][House of Commons request email] the wrong address for Freedom of
Information requests to House of Commons? If so, please contact us using
this form:

[29]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:

[30]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

For more detailed guidance on safely disclosing information, read the
latest advice from the ICO:

[31]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

[32]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/ico-...

Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will
be delayed.

If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web
manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.

show quoted sections