accessing parliament and using research effectively gary hart lynn hobson june 2015 @ukparloutreach
TRANSCRIPT
Accessing Parliament and using research
effectively
Gary Hart
Lynn Hobson
June 2015
@UKParlOutreach
Parliament’s Outreach ServiceParliament’s Outreach Service
a free service from the Houses of Parliament
politically neutral
aims to increase knowledge and engagement with work and processes of Parliament
@UKParlOutreach
Session objectivesSession objectivesBy the end of this session, you will know:
The ways your research could be used at Parliament
How to present your research effectively at Parliament
What there is to find in terms of Parliamentary Resources
Who to contact in Parliament and how.
The core tasks of The core tasks of ParliamentParliament
Makes and passes laws(Legislation)
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Holds Government to account
Enables the Government to set taxes
Parliament Parliament (Westminster)(Westminster)
Commons, Lords and Monarch
holds Government to account
passes laws
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Government (Whitehall)
• some MPs and some Lords, chosen by the Prime Minister
• runs Government departments and public services
Balancing the BriefBalancing the Brief
Library and Committee staff work for backbench and opposition MPs.
Ministers have hundreds of civil servants behind them.
Front-bench spokespeople do not serve on Committees (by convention)
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How does Parliament use research?
•House of Commons Select Committees•House of Lords Select Committees•Public Bill Committees•House of Commons Library•House of Lords Library •Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST)
Commons select committeesCommons select committees
Departmental select committees: Examine spending, policies and administration in each Government department
Cross-departmental committees: e.g. Public Accounts or Environmental Audit
Domestic committees: concerned with internal matters e.g. administration of the House itself or allegations about the conduct of individual MPs
Liaison Committee: oversight role – made up of all 33 Chairs of select committees
8
House of Lords select committees Examine issues rather than the work of specific
departments Investigate specialist subjects which take advantage
of the experience of members of the Lords Five main Lords select committees:
European Union Select Committee Science and Technology Select Committee Communications Select Committee Constitution Select Committee Economic Affairs Select Committees
Support for Select Support for Select Committee InquiriesCommittee Inquiries Clerk – procedure expert, manages committee Second clerk – “clerk in training”, manages
inquiries 2 x Committee specialists – subject experts,
manages and advises on inquiries, brief Members (suggests questions!)
Admin staff, media officer
CALL WITNESSES APPOINT SPECIAL ADVISERS FOR INQUIRIES RECEIVE WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS
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Role of Select CommitteesRole of Select Committees
Select Committee Chairs were elected on cross party basis 17th June
We expect Committee members to be in place by 21 July
Examine Government policy proposals and deficiencies.
Examine department’s actions and administration. Monitor associated public bodies.
Scrutinise major appointments.
Scrutinise draft bills.
Examine the implementation of legislation
The Committee The Committee inquiry processinquiry process
4. Report publication
5. Government reply
3. Report preparation
1. Inquiry initiation
2. Evidence gathering
Engaging with CommitteesEngaging with Committees Submitting evidence
◦ Written◦ Oral
Contact with staff◦ Informal
Specialist Adviser◦ formal
Work placement?
Keep up to date with committee activity – twitter, press notices, parliament.uk
Consider outputs that set out research developments and their potential policy applications
Public Bill CommitteesPublic Bill Committees Hear evidence Consider legislation, clause
by clause. Ad hoc – no fixed
membership May not be expert Government has a majority Report back to the House
where controversial issues may be debated again
More party political A good point to lobby
for very specific legislative changes
A word on pre-legislative scrutiny (draft bills): easier to influence policy formation
Evidence submission
The better evidence submissions:
directly address the questions asked by the Committee,
explain any complicated findings in a simple but intelligent way,
tailor which bits of research they present to be relevant to the inquiry,
gives sources of further information, only gives information relevant to
the inquiry
The less good evidence submissions: give over-complicated
information, give irrelevant information, do not answer the question, present information in a way
incomprehensible for non-academics.
Use the terms of reference: you need to tailor your research to the specific inquiry
Answer the questions posed in the Call for Evidence Write for an intelligent non-specialist: be relevant and concise State clearly who the submission is from - “Written evidence
submitted by xxxxxxx” Begin with a short summary in bullet form No more than 3000 words (or 8 sides of A4) Have numbered paragraphs Any factual information you have to offer from which the
committee might be able to draw conclusions, or which could be put to other witnesses for their reactions
Any recommendations for action by the Government or others which you would like the committee to consider
Submitting research
Impact of Select CommitteesImpact of Select CommitteesDirect impact
Difficult to measure 40% of recommendations to Government accepted either partially
or fully. (“Selective Influence: The Policy Impact of Select Committees” - research published in 2011 by Constitution Unit at UCL)
Indirect impact Influence on policy debates Highlighting issues which the Government might not have
considered Offering expert independent advice Exposing wrongful acts or inconsistencies in Government policy Causing the Government to act in anticipation of a select
committee inquiry Participation by the chair and other Committee members in
conferences, think tanks, media appearances
MisconceptionsMisconceptions Provide specialist impartial information and briefing
service for MPs, Peers, their staff, committees and staff of the Houses
For all parties
Subject specialists, 8 subject areas
Produce wide range of briefing material
Available online at www.parliament.uk under research publications
House of Commons and House of Lords Libraries
What is Library work used for?What is Library work used for? Opposition Front Bench team Hold Government to account Backbenchers –
◦ Scrutinising legislation◦ Debates (debate packs)◦ Media appearances◦ Constituents, surgeries◦ Specialist interests
Select Committees Other Parliaments’ Members
Main ‘outputs’Main ‘outputs’
Confidential briefings for MPs; 250 a month
Publish 100+ ‘standard notes’ on internet each year
Daily ‘current awareness’ email to over 100 subscribers
Personal briefings – e.g. new Opposition spokespersons
Library Research Papers
Engaging with the LibraryEngaging with the Library
Keep in touch with individual Library Specialists – let them know about research developments
Follow the Library or on Twitter @CommonsLibrary
Research Council funded internships in the future.
Specialists can be a conduit for getting information to policy makers
Library and committees increasingly co-located – a big group of specialists
Parliamentary Office of Science Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology: POSTNotes and Technology: POSTNotes http://www.parliament.uk/post http://www.parliament.uk/post
Each note take 3-4 months Interviews with around 15 experts Examples of notes:
422 - Mental Health and the Workplace
421 - Measuring Wellbeing
420 - Advanced Manufacturing
419 - Water Resource Resilience
418 - Balancing Nature and Agriculture
417 - Energy Use Behaviour Change
Administration
• Board – ten MPs, four Peers, four non-parliamentarians from science and technology community; and some parliamentary staff
• Staff – a Director, eight Advisers and two support staff
• Fellowships – ca. 30 per year
POST’s work must be...
• Clear
• Timely
• Balanced
• Independent
• Comprehensive
POSTnotes
Events
All Party Parliamentary GroupsAll Party Parliamentary Groups
Not formally recognised as a parliamentary proceeding
Often confused with Select Committees
Can do good work and carry influence (eg food waste, treatment of asylum seekers)
Must have a mix of parties amongst membership and members of both Houses
May be funded by interest groups. This should be apparent on publications but can be absent so beware.
Register of APPGs can be found on the internet
APPGs are a useful way to identify MPs/Lords with an interest in a certain issue
Where can I get information?Where can I get information?
www.parliament.uk
http://www.parliament.uk/post
http://commonslibraryblog.com
Commons Information Office 020 7219 4272 [email protected]
Lords Information Office 020 7219 3107 [email protected]
Parliament’s Outreach Service 020 7219 1650 [email protected]
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