Overseas Parliamentary News September 2020 1

Overseas Parliamentary News

September 2020

A summary of news from overseas parliaments

Canada

Remote participation in House of Commons proceedings

Until 21 December, members of the House of Commons may participate in its proceedings either in person or remotely. Members participating remotely will be counted for the purpose of a quorum. The House Administration has been directed to develop and test a secure remote voting application that includes a visual component to authenticate members’ identities and a notification to all members’ House-managed mobile devices. Until the application is ready for use and has been approved by the House Leaders of all recognised parties, members participating remotely will vote using Zoom. Members may participate in committee meetings either in person, or remotely by videoconference. Witnesses will participate remotely.

Hansard: Business of the House; Speaker, Votes by video conference, House of Commons Debates: Official Report (Hansard), 23 Sept. 2020 https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/43-2/house/sitting-1/hansard Media article: First virtual vote in the Commons marked by delays, technical glitches, goofs by MPs, Ottawa Citizen, 29 Sept. 2020 https://ottawacitizen.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/first-virtual-vote-in-the- commons-marked-by-delays-technical-glitches-goofs-by-mps/wcm/f85fe104-bf29-4671-90f2-9fe8c3184291

France

Members and staff should attend Senate in person

Since July the wearing of masks has been compulsory in the Senate’s chamber, meeting rooms and common areas such as vestibules, corridors and stairways. The Senate leadership considers that this measure, together with the maintenance of a minimum distance of one metre between people, makes it unnecessary to resort to holding meetings by videoconference or for members’ and Senate staff to work remotely. The President of the Senate has emphasised the principle that both senators and Senate staff should return to being physically present in the Senate. Remote working and videoconferencing should continue to be the exception, as a response to special circumstances.

Minutes: Compte rendu de la réunion du Bureau du Sénat du mercredi 9 septembre 2020 http://www.senat.fr/role/fiche/bur_cr_reunion090920.html

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National Assembly launches new petitions website

The National Assembly’s new petitions website enables citizens to submit and sign petitions online. Signatories must identify themselves using the government’s identification and authentication system FranceConnect. A signatory can withdraw their support from a petition if they wish. By default, a petition remains open for signature until the end of the parliamentary term, but may be closed by the committee to which it has been assigned if the committee decides not to consider it. Petitions which have received 100,000 signatures remain open for one year after reaching that threshold and are also placed on the National Assembly’s website for added visibility. A committee’s consideration of a petition might include debating it or holding a hearing with a minister. A committee report on a petition signed by 500,000 or more signatories resident in at least 30 departments or overseas territories may be debated in a plenary session.

Press release: L’Assemblée nationale lance sa platforme de pétitions en ligne, 29 Sept. 2020 https://presidence.assemblee-nationale.fr/activites/presse/2993

New South Wales

Committee access to external experts

A submission by the Parliamentary Library to the Legislative Council Procedure Committee’s inquiry into how committees might benefit from external expert assistance proposed that the Library should establish and administer a panel of external experts. The Library would establish the panel through a formal recruitment policy, which would involve vetting candidates to determine their suitability, and would consult and liaise with members, committee staff and the parliamentary departments to engage appropriate subject matter experts. The panel would be administered by a senior research officer, who would be the key point of contact between committee staff and members and the external experts. The Procedure Committee supports the Library’s proposal and recommends that funding be sought to establish and administer the panel. It believes that a managed structure for the engagement of external experts could provide Parliament with an opportunity to access independent expertise in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Report: Legislative Council Procedure Committee, Consultation on highly contentious bills and committee access to external experts, 16 Sept. 2020 https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/inquiries/2564/Final%20report%20on%20Consultation%20on%20hig hly%20contentious%20bills%20and%20expert%20panel%20tabled%2015%20September%202020.pdf

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Queensland

Parliamentary Service First Peoples reconciliation action plan

The Parliamentary Service is committed to developing an organisational structure which facilitates meaningful relationships with the First Peoples of the land, ongoing educational and personal development opportunities to strengthen cultural understanding and respect, and opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to participate in both the Parliamentary Service and the functions of Parliament. The Service has developed a reconciliation action plan to work towards achieving these aims over the next two years. Actions to be taken include establishing and maintaining beneficial relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders and organisations, promoting positive race relations through anti-discrimination strategies, showing respect by observing cultural protocols, investigating opportunities to improve and increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment outcomes within the parliamentary workplace, and increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander involvement in the legislative process.

Report: Innovate reconciliation action plan: Queensland Parliamentary Service, November 2020-November 2022, 8 Sept. 2020 https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/ParliamentaryService/QueenslandParliamentaryServiceInnovateR AP2020-2022.pdf

Bypassing committee scrutiny of substantial amendments to bills not unconstitutional

In accordance with the Constitution, every bill must be considered by a committee unless it is declared to be urgent. The question was raised as to whether the introduction and subsequent passing of substantial amendments, including amendments outside the long title, to some bills after their committee consideration, without the bills being referred back to a committee for further consideration, was a breach of the Constitution. The Speaker ruled that as the amendments, although extensive, were not bills in their own right there appeared to be no prima facie non- compliance with the Constitution. It might be argued, however, that the practice of moving a substantial number of amendments during the consideration in detail stage, effectively bypassing committee scrutiny, was not within the spirit of the Constitution, or transparent or accountable. The Speaker noted that, nevertheless, the House had given leave for the amendments to be moved.

Hansard: Speaker’s ruling, Operation of Parliament, Record of Proceedings, 9 Sept. 2020 https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/hansard/2020/2020_09_09_WEEKLY.pdf Opinion: Gim Del Villar QC, Opinion re: alleged breaches of Queensland Constitution, 3 Sept. 2020 https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Documents/TableOffice/TabledPapers/2020/5620T1572.pdf

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Samoa

Members who resign from their party must vacate their seat

An amendment to the Electoral Act 2019 has broadened the circumstances in which a member’s seat becomes vacant if they change their party status. Previously a member’s seat became vacant if they resigned from the political party for which they had been elected in order to join another party, or if, having been elected as an independent member, they then joined a political party. A member could, however, resign from their party and continue to sit in Parliament as an independent member. The amended Act no longer allows for this possibility. If a member resigns or withdraws from the party for which they were elected, their seat becomes vacant.

Act: Electoral Amendment Act (No. 2) 2020, 23 Sept. 2020 https://www.palemene.ws/wp-content/uploads/Electoral- Amendment-Act-No.2-2020-Eng.pdf Media articles: Electoral amendments passed ahead of election, Samoa Observer, 22 Sept. 2020 https://www.samoaobserver.ws/category/samoa/71292; Electoral law changes “undemocratic, controlling”, Samoa Observer, 23 Sept. 2020 https://www.samoaobserver.ws/category/samoa/71292

Scotland

Vote result reliable despite problem with remote voting system

Since Parliament resumed after the summer recess, all members, whether present in the chamber or participating remotely, have been using a new voting application. After the outcome of one vote was questioned, the Presiding Officer said that the decision to go live with the new system at the earliest opportunity had been taken in the knowledge that everyone would be learning as they went along. He apologised that an administrative error and a lack of clarity in explaining what was happening had caused some members to start to lose confidence in the system. Concerning the questioned vote, in which an amendment had been defeated by one vote, analysis had shown that one member had been unable to cast their vote. If their vote had been recorded, the outcome would have been a tie, in which case the Presiding Officer would have used his casting vote to vote against the amendment, in line with convention. As the final outcome would have been the same, he considered that the result was reliable and he would not rerun the vote.

Hansard: Presiding Officer’s statement, Official Report, 9 Sept. 2020 https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/report.aspx?r=12802&i=115745 Media article: Holyrood’s Presiding Officer apologises to MSPs after voting ‘fiasco’, The Herald, 9 Sept. 2020 https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18708897.holyroods-presiding-officer-apologises-msps-voting-fiasco/

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South Australia

Changes to country members’ accommodation allowance

Members whose usual place of residence is more than 75 kilometres by road from central Adelaide have been entitled to claim an accommodation allowance of $234 per night, up to a maximum of $31,590 and a total of 135 nights annually, for actual expenditure incurred when they are required to stay in Adelaide overnight to attend to parliamentary or electorate duties. Following a review, the Remuneration Tribunal has replaced the old allowance with either a second residence accommodation allowance, or reimbursement of commercial accommodation expenses. The second residence accommodation allowance will be paid at the rate of $185 per eligible night, while commercial accommodation expenses will be reimbursed up to a maximum of $234 per eligible night. The number of eligible nights, for the allowance and reimbursements combined, remains capped at 135 per year. Members must provide evidence of ownership or tenancy of a second residence, or receipts for actual expenditure on commercial accommodation.

Determination: Determination of the Remuneration Tribunal: accommodation reimbursement and allowance for country members of Parliament, 7 Sept. 2020 http://remtribunal.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/public/attachments/5/318/2015915817/20200907%20Determinati on%209%20of%202020%20- %20Country%20MP%20Accommodation%20Expense%20Reimbursement%20and%20Allowance.pdf Report: Report of the Remuneration Tribunal: accommodation expense reimbursement and allowance for country members of Parliament, 7 Sept. 2020 http://remtribunal.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/public/attachments/5/319/1548544620/20200907%20Report%20 9%20of%202020%20- %20Country%20MP%20Accomodation%20Expense%20Reimbursement%20and%20Allowance.pdf

Tied election for presiding officer decided by lot

Elections were held in both houses for new presiding officers. In each house the first ballot resulted in a tie. On the second ballot in the House of Assembly, the government’s nominee obtained a majority of the votes and was elected Speaker. In the Legislative Council, where the contest was between two members of the governing party, one nominated by the government and the other by the opposition, the second ballot again resulted in a tie. In accordance with the standing orders, the election was then determined by lot, with the Clerk drawing the name of the successful candidate from the ballot box. The opposition’s nominee was duly declared to be the new President of the Council.

Media articles: New SA upper house boss faces party wrath, Canberra Times, 8 Sept. 2020 https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6914452/new-sa-upper-house-boss-faces-party-wrath/?cs=14231; SA Liberal John Dawkins wins presidency then booted from party hours after vote, ABC News, 8 Sept. 2020 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-08/new-speaker-and-president-vote-for-sa-parliament/12639696

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Sweden

Members absent without valid reason should repay remuneration

Recommendations from a committee appointed to review aspects of the Riksdag's work include a proposal that members who are absent from the Riksdag for an extended period of time would be required to repay part of their remuneration. A member who missed 60% or more of the votes during a three-month period, excluding July to September, without a valid reason would be reminded by the Speaker that if they should be similarly absent again in the same parliamentary term the Speaker would notify the Riksdag Remunerations Board. When notified of a member’s absence, the Board would require the member to repay the remuneration they had received for the relevant three months in total, or in part if there were extenuating circumstances. The member could appeal the Board’s decision to the administrative court. Valid reasons for missing votes would include sickness, parental leave, family reasons, and representative duties abroad. Votes for which a member had been paired would also be excluded. Glossary: Riksdagen – Parliament

Report: 2019 års riksdagsöversyn, 23 Sept. 2020 https://data.riksdagen.se/fil/45069084-F833-45EA-A687- B9A4FCEF2B25 Press release: Ledamot som inte deltar i riksdagsarbetet kan behöva återbetala arvodet, 24 Sept. 2020 https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/press/pressmeddelanden/2020/sep/24/ledamot-som-inte-deltar-i-riksdagsarbetet- kan-behova-aterbetala-arvodet/

Tonga

Ministers may introduce members’ bills

The Constitution states that any member of the Legislative Assembly may, in accordance with its rules of procedure, introduce a bill in the Assembly. In 2016 Parliament’s rules of procedure were amended to allow only members who were not ministers to introduce a private bill, which must deal with a public matter that impacts the country as a whole. Acting on advice from a former Attorney General that the prohibition on ministers introducing private bills was unconstitutional, Parliament has now amended the rules so that any member, including a minister, may introduce a private bill.

Press release: Parliament approved to amend Rules 125 subsection 3(a) allowing Cabinet Ministers to introduce private bill, 18 Sept. 2020 https://parliament.gov.to/media-centre/latest-news/latest-news-in-english/756- parliament-approved-to-amend-rules-125-subsection-3-a-allowing-cabinet-ministers-to-introduce-private-bill

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United Kingdom

Proxy voting in the House of Commons

Proxy voting for parental absence, introduced as a pilot in 2019, had been a success the House of Commons Procedure Committee found, and, with some technical modifications to improve its efficiency and effectiveness, should be made permanent. The system of proxy voting for coronavirus absences, on the other hand, was viewed by the Committee as being barely adequate, potentially unreliable and imposing disproportionate administrative burdens on staff. It noted that members representing areas where local lockdowns were in place would be subject to statutory provisions, breach of which would be a criminal offence. It did not consider the ancient privilege of the House to require the attendance of members at Westminster without hindrance to be capable of being exercised to exempt any member from the requirements of criminal law, nor was it appropriate on public health grounds for members to be exempted from such restrictions. The Committee recommended that the remote voting system used in May should be reinstated.

Report: House of Commons Procedure Committee, Proxy voting: review of pilot arrangements, HC 10, 10 Sept. 2020 https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/2464/documents/24399/default/

Disclosure of former members’ pass usage in the public interest

In response to a request for the details of the number of times each former member’s Palace of Westminster security pass had been used between July 2018 and June 2019, the House of Commons provided the number of occasions on which each pass had been used, but declined to give the names of the users on the grounds that this would result in a disclosure of personal data that breached data protection principles. The Information Commissioner decided that although the information was personal data, legitimate interests in disclosure outweighed the rights of the data subjects. She considered there was a compelling interest in understanding which individuals had passes and how the privileged access was being utilised. The fact that former members are not subject to the same transparency regarding their financial interests as other passholders strengthened the legitimate interest in understanding their pass usage and weakened any expectation of privacy. Publishing the data would act as a deterrent to misuse.

Decision: Information Commissioner’s Office, Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) decision notice, 22 June 2020 https://ico.org.uk/media/action-weve-taken/decision-notices/2020/2617921/fs50898156.pdf Media article: Revealed: ex-MPs use parliament access passes over 2,500 times in a year, The Guardian, 13 Sept. 2020 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/13/revealed-ex-mps-use-parliament-access-passes-over- 2500-times-year

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Implications of repeal of Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011

Inquiries by two committees into various issues relating to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 and its possible repeal reached some similar conclusions. Should the Act be repealed, new legislation would be required to set the maximum length of a parliamentary term; otherwise the current Parliament would continue indefinitely. There is contested legal debate over whether or not the royal prerogative to dissolve Parliament, which the Act removed, would be revived if the Act were repealed. Both committees believe that the uncertainty over this, and the consequent risk of legal challenges, mean that replacement arrangements for dissolution and calling elections should be set out in statute. Among other issues considered was the situation that may now arise where the government can lose the confidence of the House of Commons, but the House is not prepared to trigger an election or support an alternative government, leaving the United Kingdom without a government that has the legitimate authority to govern.

Reports: House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution, A question of confidence?: the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, HL Paper 121, 4 Sept. 2020 https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/2335/documents/24130/default/; House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, HC 167, 15 Sept. 2020 https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/2550/documents/26167/default/

Restrictions on members’ lobbying on behalf of donors

The House of Commons Code of Conduct prohibits members from acting as a paid advocate in any proceedings of the House. Members must not engage in lobbying by initiating a proceeding or approach to ministers, other members or public officials that seeks to, or would, confer a benefit on a person or organisation from whom they have received outside reward or consideration within the previous six months. A member who asked a topical question in the House that sought regulations to protect companies such as the one from which he had received a £10,000 campaign donation the previous month was found to have breached the paid advocacy rule. He had also breached the rule by emailing a follow-up question to the minister. The member apologised to the House for his breaches of the Code.

Report: House of Commons Committee on Standards, David Morris, HC 771, 17 Sept. 2020 https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/2612/documents/26075/default/

Parliamentary scrutiny of government’s COVID-19 response

The Coronavirus Act 2020, passed in March, gives the government emergency powers to respond to the pandemic. Every six months the House of Commons must decide whether or not to renew the Act. There has been strong criticism of the way in which the government has exercised its regulatory powers under the Act and the lack of parliamentary scrutiny or effective oversight of the regulations. A well supported proposed amendment to the first six-monthly renewal motion would have required Parliament to be given the opportunity to debate and to vote on any secondary legislation for the whole of England or the United Kingdom before it came into effect. The amendment was not selected by the Speaker, who said that he had been advised that any amendment to the motion would risk giving rise to uncertainty about the decision the House had taken, which then risked decisions that were rightly Parliament’s responsibility ultimately being determined by the courts.

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Hansard: Speaker’s statement, House of Commons Hansard, 30 Sept. 2020 https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-09-30/debates/8160262B-DA85-4D6C-B7FF- 86717C8261B2/Speaker%E2%80%99SStatement; Coronavirus Act 2020 (review of temporary provisions), House of Commons Hansard, 30 Sept. 2020 https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2020-09-30/debates/AAB1B147-2F78- 4F41-ADE6-F1E50B3F3ECB/CoronavirusAct2020(ReviewOfTemporaryProvisions) Report: House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Parliamentary scrutiny of the government’s handling of Covid-19, HC 377, 10 Sept. 2020 https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/2459/documents/24384/default/ Media articles: More than 80 Tory MPs prepared to rebel over Coronavirus Act renewal, The Guardian, 29 Sept. 2020 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/29/more-than-80-tory-mps-prepared-to-rebel-over- coronavirus-act-renewal; Government bows to pressure to let MPs vote on Covid restrictions, The Guardian, 30 Sept. 2020 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/30/rebel-tory-mps-fail-in-bid-to-get-more-say-over- covid-restrictions

Vanuatu

Committee report not tabled due to chairperson’s absence

Committee reports must be tabled by the chairperson of the committee concerned, as prescribed by the standing orders. In response to a comment by the current chair of the Public Accounts Committee that the Committee had not presented any reports in the previous Parliament, the Committee’s chair in the previous Parliament said that a report had been completed and signed by the members, and deposited with the Clerk for presentation during the Parliament’s last session. As he had been absent from the session for medical reasons, he had not been able to table the report and the Parliament had then come to an end before he could do so. He called on the current chair of the Committee to re-present the report. The Clerk said that the report and its recommendations could not be tabled by the present chair of the Committee because that could only have been done in the previous Parliament.

Media article: 11th legislature PAC report cannot enter 12th legislature: Clerk, Daily Post, 30 Sept. 2020 https://dailypost.vu/news/11th-legislature-pac-report-cannot-enter-12th-legislature-clerk/article_6a1c226e-02a9- 11eb-81fb-b71d42f1040d.html

Wales

Promoting understanding of Parliament’s and members’ roles

There is clear and compelling evidence, the Committee on Senedd Electoral Reform believes, that the Senedd is currently undersized and that its membership lacks diversity. It recommends that the size of the Senedd should be increased from the current 60 members to between 80 and 90 members. Alongside recommended changes to the electoral system, the Committee also considers that more needs to be done to help people understand the role of the Senedd and its members and to demonstrate the difference its work can make on issues that matter to them. There should be a systematic and proactive approach to assessing and communicating the impact of the scrutiny and oversight work carried out by the Senedd and its committees. An overview of a member’s core tasks, recognising both formal Senedd business responsibilities and the wider role as representative, campaigner and employer, should be developed and published, together with illustrative case studies and personal stories. Glossary: Senedd – Parliament

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Report: Committee on Senedd Electoral Reform, Senedd reform: the next steps, 10 Sept. 2020 https://senedd.wales/laid%20documents/cr-ld13452/cr-ld13452%20-e.pdf

No annual adjustment to members’ pay

Members’ pay is adjusted in April each year by the change in the ASHE (Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings) gross median earnings for full-time employees in Wales between March and March of the previous year. In March this year the Independent Remuneration Board of the Senedd delayed the annual adjustment, which would be a rise of 4.4%, until October, saying that the economic picture had profoundly changed since the last ASHE adjustment was published and the full impact of COVID- 19 on Welsh earnings was still unknown. The Board has now determined that there will be no adjustment in members’ pay in this financial year. It is of the view that the economic picture has changed significantly since March. It is becoming clearer that the pandemic will have longer term impacts and it is now highly likely that the extremely poor economic outlook will prevail for the next six months. Given these considerations, the Board believes that allowing a pay rise would be unsuitable and difficult to justify.

Statement: Statement of the Independent Remuneration Board of the Senedd under section 13(5) of the National Assembly for Wales (Remuneration) Measure 2010, 29 Sept. 2020 https://senedd.wales/laid%20documents/gen- ld13536/gen-ld13536-e.pdf

Guidance on use of Senedd resources during election campaigns

The chair of a party group meeting held on Senedd premises, which was attended by the party’s general secretary, was found by the Committee on Standards of Conduct to have breached the Code of Conduct by not complying with the guidance on the use of Senedd resources specifically relating to an election campaign. The election guidance had removed a qualification from the usual guidance on the rule prohibiting the booking of meeting rooms for party political purposes. The Committee noted that the election guidance had been emailed to all members and group offices, but there had been no explanation of the differences from the guidance that applied at other times. It recommended that the Senedd Commission should outline in communications to members the differences between the usual rules and guidance on the use of Senedd resources and the election guidance, and also liaise with political group chairs and officers to ensure that any changes to the rules were clearly understood. Glossary: Senedd – Parliament

Report: Report 01-20 by the Committee on Standards of Conduct to the Senedd under Standing Order 22.9, 30 Sept. 2020 https://senedd.wales/laid%20documents/cr-ld13545/cr-ld13545-e.pdf

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Western Australia

Petitions committee’s functions and processes reviewed

Following an inquiry into its environment and petitions functions, the Legislative Council’s Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs concluded that it should become a dedicated petitions committee, renamed the Standing Committee on Petitions, and should have as its terms of reference to consider and, if deemed appropriate, inquire into and report on petitions. A significant theme which emerged from the Committee’s review was the challenge of recognising and addressing the gap between petitioners’ expectations of the process and outcomes, and what occurs in practice. The Committee intends to develop guidance that gives petitioners clear information on how their petitions are considered and what can be practically delivered by Parliament. The Committee also recommended the establishment of a working arrangement with the Ombudsman for the exchange of information on issues raised in petitions.

Report: Legislative Council Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs, The functions, processes and procedures of the Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs – are they clear for petitioners and do they reflect its core petitions role?, 17 Sept. 2020 https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/commit.nsf/(Report+Lookup+by+Com+ID)/647F37C0A54BD1B648 2585E6000F8297/$file/ev.tor.200917.rpf.054.xx.pdf

Pleasance Purser Research Analyst Parliamentary Library

ISSN 2703-6065

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