Early Day Motions
This is a colloquial term for requests (notices of motion) by an MP for a debate “on an early day” but for which no date has been fixed. Very few are debated. Generally they are a way for MPs to put on record their opinion on a subject and canvass support for it from fellow Members.

Election of the Speaker
Speakers are elected at the beginning of each new Parliament, that is after every General Election, or when the previous Speaker dies or retires. The election of the Speaker in the House of Commons is presided over by the Father of the House or the retiring Speaker if he or she is still an MP.

Electoral Commission
The Electoral Commission was established by Parliament as an independent body to oversee new controls on donations to and campaign spending by political parties and others. It also has a remit to keep under review electoral law and practice and to promote public awareness of the electoral process. Its functions and powers are set out in the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

Electoral Register
The Electoral Register is a list of all the people who are eligible to vote and have registered to do so. The Electoral Register for each constituency is revised monthly. Registration is a statutory obligation but, in practice, not everyone registers. Those who do not register cannot vote in elections. Electoral Registers are available, for reference only, in public libraries and local authority offices.

Electorate
The electorate is everyone entitled to vote in an election.

Emergency Debate
An emergency debate, now known as an 'urgent debate', is a debate called at short notice on a subject of a "specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration". An MP may apply to the Speaker for an emergency debate under the rules of Standing Order No. 24. Many more MPs request emergency debates than are granted. The Speaker usually grants no more than one or two a year and limits them to matters of national importance. They take place within 24 hours of being granted.

Estimates Days
Three days in every session are set aside for consideration of the Estimates. Estimates is the formal term for the government’s request for House of Commons approval for the sums needed to cover recurring public expenditure. In practice, however Estimates days are used for debating one or more Estimates or select committee reports chosen by the Liaison Committee.

European Legislation
European legislation is the law of the European Union of which Britain is a member country. The Union can make laws in three ways, either through the Council of Ministers or the Council with the European Parliament, and for measures of a routine or technical nature, through the European Commission. Council legislation is subject to a procedure involving consideration and consultation of proposals by the Council and European Parliament. Since July 1987, under the Single European Act that amended the Treaty of Rome, certain types of legislation have been subject to a 'co-operation procedure' that gives the European Parliament a greater influence than it previously had. The Maastricht Treaty of 1993 gave the European Parliament an ultimate right of veto in certain circumstances. This is called co-decision. The Treaty of Amsterdam, which came into force in 1999, changed almost all decision-making by the co-operation procedure to the co-decision procedure. In terms of volume, the majority of Community legislation is made directly by the European Commission. It is generally of a technical or routine nature, much of it concerned with implementing Council legislation. However the Commission has a number of powers under the Treaties where it may legislate on its own account without reference to the Council.

European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected democratic Parliament of Europe. It is the defender of European interests and of its citizens’ rights. All the countries that belong to the European Union are entitled to send representatives to the Parliament. Individuals or groups can petition this Parliament about matters that concern them. The most important powers of the European Parliament fall into three categories:

i) legislative power
ii) power over the budget
iii) supervision of the Executive (the Commission and the Council of Ministers).

The Treaty of Rome gave the Parliament a consultative role only, allowing the Commission to propose and the Council of Ministers to decide legislation. Subsequent treaties have extended Parliament's influence to amend and adopt legislation so that Parliament and Council share the power of decision making in a large number of areas. The European Parliament approves the Union's budget every year. The monitoring of expenditure is the responsibility of the Parliamentary Committee on Budgetary Control, which makes sure money is spent on what was agreed upon and tries to prevent fraud. The Parliament exercises overall political supervision of the way the Union's policies are conducted.

European Scrutiny Committee
The European Scrutiny Committee is a House of Commons committee established to examine proposals from the European Union in order to inform the House about any which raise issues of legal or political importance. Since Britain became a member of the European Economic Community and then the European Union more and more proposals for legislation have come from the organisations of the European Union. It is important that each country in the Union examines these proposals and how they might affect their country. The Scrutiny Committee considers about 1,300 documents each year and produces reports on about 400.

European Standing Committee
There are three European Standing Committees in the House of Commons which have been set up to look in detail at documents sent to them by the European Scrutiny Committee . The committees are known as A, B and C. Each sitting lasts for up to two and a half hours. Each committee consists of thirteen members nominated for the duration of a Parliament, the Chairman is chosen from the Chairman's Panel and may change from sitting to sitting.

Executive Agencies
Executive Agencies are semi-independent organisations set up by the Government to carry out some of their responsibilities instead of a Government Department. There are now well over one hundred agencies including the Benefits Agency and the Driver and Licensing Agency.

Explanatory Notes to Bills
Explanatory Notes to Bills are prepared by the relevant Government Department to help people understand the Bill. This includes its legal and political implications.

Courtesy of www.parliament.uk