0 Capacity Building Workshop for Sectoral Oversight Committee

Capacity Building Workshop for Sectoral Oversight Committee Chairs and Officials from the Parliament of Sri Lanka

Houses of Parliament, 24-28 October 2016

Report

Contents

Background 2 Delegation 2 Aim 2 Summary 3 Programme Comments 4 Programme 9 Outcomes and follow-up activities 15 Acknowledgments 15 About CPA UK 16

Background

1.01. Following the General Election in August 2015, the Leadership of the Parliament of Sri Lanka prioritised a number of reforms including the establishment of a Departmental Sectoral Oversight Committee System aimed at enhancing the capabilities of Parliament to hold Government to account.

1.02. CPA UK subsequently secured funding from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Magna Carta Partnerships Fund to run a Workshop on Sectoral Oversight Committees from 15-17 February 2016 in partnership with the Parliament of Sri Lanka and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD). This activity was particularly well received and provided a platform for the exchange of knowledge and good practice between UK and Sri Lankan Members and Clerks ahead of the implementation of the new committee system.

1.03. Following the conclusion of the Workshop, it was suggested by the Parliamentary Leadership that a series of follow-up activities would take place. The Secretary General of the Sri Lankan Parliament subsequently visited Westminster (April 2016) and a WFD-led Workshop for parliamentary officials took place in Colombo in July 2016.

1.04. CPA UK and WFD are working jointly to deliver the next two activities, namely two study visits to Westminster by the Sectoral Oversight Committee Chairs and senior parliamentary officials. The first visit took place from 24 – 28 October 2016, attended by eight Committee Chairs and two parliamentary officials. The next visit is scheduled for the week commencing 23 January 2017. The WFD Sri Lanka Country Representative will accompany both delegations.

Delegation

2.01. The visiting delegation was:

Hon. Ranjith Aluvihare MP, Chair, Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations Hon. Nalin Bandara Jayamaha MP, Chair, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Manufacturing and Services Hon. Ajith Mannapperuma MP, Chair, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Legal Affairs (anti-corruption) and Media Hon. Dr Thusitha Wijemanna MP, Chair, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Women and Gender Hon. Seyed Ali Zahir Moulana MP, Chair, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Business and Commerce Hon. C. B. Rathnayake MP, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Youth, Sports, Arts and Heritage Hon. Gamini Lokuge MP, Chair, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Internal Administration and Public Management Hon. Vadivel Suresh MP, Chair, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education and Human Resources Development Mr. Tikiri K. Jayathilake, Assistant Secretary General of Parliament Ms. Indira Dissanayake, Assistant Director Administration (Committee) Priyanga Hettiarachi, Sri Lanka Country Representative, Westminster Foundation for Democracy

Aim

3.01. Through exchange with colleagues, practical sessions and discussions, the programme aimed to build the capacity of the Committee Chairs and senior parliamentary officials to effectively fulfil their responsibilities and respective committee mandate.

3.02 In addition to the sessions focussed on sectoral oversight committees, WFD arranged for the Chairs and officials to meet with other committees and UK elected representatives and parliamentary officials as part of WFD’s ongoing engagement with the Parliament and political parties.

Summary

4.01. The programme delivered on its aim, enhancing the relationship between UK and Sri Lankan parliamentarians. Through the programme, the delegation was able to learn from the experiences of their UK counterparts, building knowledge and capacity to fulful their roles within the new Sectoral Oversight Committee System.

4.02. UK Members had the opportunity to interact with visiting delegates through the series of sessions and roundtables, expanding their knowledge of the Sri Lankan Committee reforms. UK parliamentarians highlighted the pre-legislative scrutiny function of Sri Lankan Committees as an area of particular interest, which the UK could learn from. A roundtable discussion on addressing solutions to common problems faced by all parliamentarians in their committee work provided a valuable opportunity for knowledge sharing and learning for the Sri Lankan Chairs and their UK colleagues.

4.03. Sessions foucssing on the role of the Committee Chair, cross party working and engagement with the media and public gave visiting delegates a thorough overview of the workings of a Westminster committee system. A practical mock committee evidence session on the final day of the programme then gave delegates the opportunity to put their learning into practice.

Programme Comments

5.01. Overview of Oversight Committee Framework

5.01.1 During a session with Colin Lee, Principal Clerk of Select Committees, delegates discussed the committees operating in the UK Parliament. Mr Lee gave an overview of the two types of committees – Public Bill Committees and select committees. Public Bill Committees have temporary membership and are formed to consider a specific bill, with the Chair acting as an impartial Presiding Officer. Public Bill Committees can include whips, Minister and opposition front bench Members and proceed largely as a smaller version of the chamber, where Members can speak and move motions on amendments.

5.01.2 Select Committees, however, have a permenanent membership for the duration of a Parliament and are composed of backbench members only. UK Departmental Select committees, which shadow a specific government department, are the closest UK equivalent to the Sri Lankan Secotral Oversight Committees. In the UK, each Select committee shadows one governemtn department, whereas 16 Sri Lankan Sectoral Oversight Committees scrutinise 53 government departments. The UK also has cross-cutting scrutiny committees, such as the Public Accounts and Environmental Audit Committees, which scrutinise all departments.

5.01.3 Mr Lee gave an overview of recent changes in the UK system, including the creation of two new Select Committees to shadow the work of new departments created following the annoucement of the UK’s planned exit from the European Union – the Department for International Trade and the Department for Exiting the European Union. Mr Lee also highlighted the creation of a Women and Equalities Committee in 2015, an initiative promoted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Previously there had been an Equalities Minister and office based within a government department, but no dedicated Select Committee.

5.01.4 Hon. Vadivel Suresh MP, Chair of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education and Human Resources Development, asked about the relationship between Select Committees and Ministers in the UK. Mr Lee outlined how the relationship varies depending on the Committee themselves. It is for the Committee to decide how closely they wish to work with Ministers, but the most common practice is to work closely together to establish an understanding of department’s agenda and a relationship of trust. Many Committee Chairs meet regularly with their Secretary of State, though some Chairs do prefer a more confrontational approach. Hon. Suresh asked whether this practice and the relationships had developed over time and explained that the Sri Lankan system is very new. They face some practical issues in implementing the Committee reforms and in building relationships with Ministers, particularly given that each Committee scrutinises multiple government departments and that the previous Consultative Committees were chaired by Ministers.

5.01.5 The delegation met with the Rt Hon. Lord Beith, former Liaison Committee Chair and Fergus Reid, Clerk of the Liaison Committee, to discuss the role of the Liaison Committee in the UK Parliament. The House of Commons Liaison Committee is made up of the Chairs of each of the Select Committees. The Committee's role includes taking evidence from the Prime Minister on matters of public policy, choosing select committee reports for debate in Westminster Hall and considering general matters relating to the work of select committees. Lord Beith outlined that the original role of the Liaison Committee was mainly administrative, for example overseeing select committee budgets, but that its role had evolved to promote the work of select committees. The Committee argues for staffing and resources and pushes the government to respond to recommendations where necessary. The Liaison Committee also oversaw the development of the Scrutiny Unit, a specialised unit available to all committees and staffed by specialists in legal affairs and finance who give further expert support to committees with specific inquiries.

5.01.6 Hon. Seyed Ali Zahir Moulana MP, Chair of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Business and Commerce, asked about the Committee’s role in taking evidence from the Prime Minister. Lord Beith explained that the Liaison Committee is the only committee to take evidence from the Prime Minister, on behalf of all committees. These evidence sessions take place around three times per year in three and a half hour sessions. Hon. Suresh commented that in Sri Lanka, the Prime Minister is also the Minister for other departments and therefore answerble to other committees.

5.02. Committee Membership

5.02.1. The delegation discussed the role of a Committee Chair with Crispin Blunt MP, Chair of the UK Foreign Affairs Committee. Mr Blunt gave an overview of his experience chairing a Select Committee and his reponsibilities in directing the Committee. Visiting Members were particulary interested in the role of the Chair in setting the agenda for the Committee, selecting and agreeing inquiries with the Members. Participants discussed forward planning in Committees, and the balance between setting a programme of work and being reactive, particularly to breaking news stories and public interest.

5.02.2 Marie Rimmer MP, Alex Chalk MP and Alberto Costa MP, all Members of the UK Justice Select Committee, explored their expereince of working across party lines in their Committee. Alex Chalk emphasised cross-party working as the very core of committee work. Reports agreed with unanimous cross- party support have credibility and more likely to be noticed by the press and acted upon by government. The UK MPs commented on the importance of having an independent, even-handed Chair to manage Committee business and proceedings. In the UK, Committee Chairs have been directly elected by secret ballot of Members of the whole House of Commons since 2010. Members were of the opinion that this had encouraged more independent Select Committee Chairs, as candidates had to reach out to all parties to gain support and could not be overly political. The Chairs were then committed to achieving consensus and genuine cross party working within their Committees.

5.02.3 Marie Rimmer commented on her role as an opposition MP, which she regarded as having two distinct elements – her party affiliation and her committee work. She highlighted that Select Committees are formed of Backbench Members only and never Ministers, underlining the scrutiny funtion of Parliament in holding the Government of the day to account. She added that good procedure and policy in Parliament came from debate, and particularly in Committees which are able to review detail.

5.02.4 Hon. Dr Thusitha Wijemanna MP, Chair of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Women and Gender, asked about the Chairmanship of each Committee, and whether all Committees were chaired by Government Members. In the UK, Chairmanship of Committees is allocated in proportion to the make-up of the House, with the opposition and third party chairing some Committees. Dr Wijemanna commented that the new Sri Lankan system works in a similar way. Of the 16 Sectoral Oversight Committees, seven are chaired by Government Members and all Committees have cross party membership.

5.03. Addressing challenges in committee work

5.03.1 A rountable session with UK Committee Members provided participants with the opportunity to discuss and identify solutions to common problems in committee work. In discussions chaired by Iain Wright MP, Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee, participants looked at the relationship between committees and the media. Damian Collins MP, newly elected Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee highlighted that in the UK, committee hearings can act as set-pieces to attract media coverage. Parliamentarians can only question the Government in the Chamber but can question almost anyone in committee, levaraging media coverage to their benefit to insitgate change. Richard Bacon MP agreed, suggesting the select committee format is often good for television covergage and is a good way for MPs to make the news. The Public Accounts Committee, of which Mr Bacon is Vice- Chair, used this to their advantage to scrutinise the tax affairs of multinational corporations. Extensive media coverage of the inquiry has led to a range of changes and raised the issue to the global level, with discussions at the G8 summit. Ian Wright asked about media coverage of committees in Sri Lanka, which isn’t as extensive, though there is an app which allows the public to watch committee proceedings on their phones.

5.03.2 Members discussed issues where committees have overlapping remits, with Ian Wright MP offering the example of potential overlap between the BEIS and CMS Committees. Members suggested this offered an opportunity for joint working, such as with the sub-committee set up by the BEIS and Education Committees. Though the sub-committee has had many successes, Mr Wright highlighted further challenges in joint working, mainly in providing adequate staffing for the sub-committee and having a quorum of members from each committee at all meetings. The Sri Lankan delegation gave an example of committees working jointly in their parliament, where the Appropriations Bill will be scrutinised by the Finance Committee alongside relevant Sectoral Oversight Committees.

5.04. Engaging the media and the public

5.04.1 Following from discussions on committee engagement with the media, the delegation met with Maev Mac Coille, Media Relations Manager and Natasha Hallett, Select Committees Engagement Manager to explore how committees can best engage the media and the general public. Natasha Hallett gave a thorough overview of the work of the outreach and engagement team, which includes organising outreach activities with members of the public, from schools to early-career academics. They have a particular focus on engaging minority groups and those who would not normally engage with the work of Parliament, organising targeted activities across the country, with the majority of events held outside London.

5.04.2 Maev Mac Coille then outlined her responsibilites in the Communications Office, where she works to proactively promote the work of the Houses of Parliament. The Communications Office represent the House of Commons Services and all staff, as well as publicising debates in the Chamber and covering major events. Ms Mac Coille gave an overview of the process of disseminating press releases for Select

Committees, which can be released 24 hours in advance under embargo. She emphasised that all committees work proactively and directly with the media and all have a dedicated media officer and are active on social media.

5.04.3 Hon. Ajith Mannapperuma MP, Chair, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Legal Affairs (anti- corruption) and Media asked about how the public contribute to inquiries. Ms Hallett commented that select committees issue a call for written evidence for all hearings, which is open for contributions from the public. The public are also able to engage through informal events organised by the outreach team and through online forums, where the outreach team target specific online communities such as mumsnet to contribute to relevant inquiries.

5.05. Mock Evidence Session

5.05.1 Delegates participated in a practical Mock Evidence Session on the final day of the Westminster programme, which provided an opportunity to put in to practice skills developed during the visit. The session, chaired by Hon. Seyed Ali Zahir Moulana MP, saw the delegation act as a select committee in an oral evidence session, questioning expert witnesses. The hearing focused on the digital economy, looking at its successes and challenges in the UK. It aimed to explore the UK experience of growing a digital economy and conclude lessons that could be valuable for the Sri Lankan digital economy. Kat Hanna, Research Manager at Centre for London and Conrad Poulson, CEO of Huq Industries acted as witnesses and shared their experience with the committee. The inquiry was based on a real inquiry conducted by the UK Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee 2015 and Chris Shaw, Clerk of the BIS Committee, acted as the Clerk for the inquiry.

5.05.2 The Committee first allocated the suggested questions provided by the Clerk, before inviting the witnesses for questioning in a one-hour session. Questions covered barriers to business success in the digital economy; Government actions to promote digital economy growth; digital transformation of businesses; distribution of economic benefits and growth and the digital skills gap. Through questioning, the Committee learned potentially valuable lessons regarding the growth of the digital economy, including the importance of investing in digital infrastructure and promoting government tax schemes or incentives to attract business.

5.05.3 Following the session, the Committee agreed a draft set of conclusions and recommendations, which would form the basis of the inquiry report. These included encouraging Government to invest in digital infrastructure, prioritising teaching transferrable digital skills in schools and universities and developing cities and the quality of life to attract people digital businesses.

5.05.3 In a report back session following the hearing Chris Shaw, Acting Committee Clerk, gave informative feedback on the oral evidence session. He highlighted the importance of directing questions to the most relevant witness to glean quality information, and the need to ensure all witnesses are heard equally. The Chair has a key role in hearings in directing the line of questioning in agreement with the

membership. The committee should find a way to communicate unobtrusively during proceedings to ensure they coordinate on questioning to increase effectiveness. Mr Shaw then outlined how a committee would proceed following a hearing to agree recommendations and a report.

Programme

Monday 24 October 1430 Meeting with Joint Committee of Human Rights Room U, Portcullis House 1530 Break and proceed to next meeting 1600 Meeting with Lord Norton TBC 1700 Meeting with Lord McConnell Rm 1.02 Millbank House 1800 Evening at leisure Tuesday 25 October Sectoral Oversight Committee Workshop – Day 1 0900 Depart Hotel for Houses of Parliament, with WFD Sri Lanka Country Representative. Delegation met at Portcullis House Entrance by Mariam El-Azm, Deputy Head of International Outreach & Helen Gardner, Programme Officer 0945 Welcome and Introductions : Sectoral Oversight Committees in Sri CPA Room Lanka, Progress so far and ways forward This session offered opportunity to run through the programme sessions and for the delegation to update UK parliamentary officials, including CPA UK, on the implementation of the Sectoral Oversight Committee System in the Parliament of Sri Lanka, with some of the recent successes and challenges faced. Andrew Tuggey CBE DL, Chief Executive, CPA UK Mariam El-Azm, Deputy Head of International Outreach, CPA UK Robert Harper, Asia-Pacific Programme Manager, CPA UK David Thirlby, Senior Programme Manager, WFD UK 1015 Coffee CPA Room 1030 Session 1: Overview of the UK Parliament and Select Committee CPA Room System This session put into context the implementation and reform of the UK Departmental Select Committee System. It also provided an opportunity

to discuss the different types of committees that exist in the UK Parliament and helped draw comparisons in the role and remit of UK Select Committees and Sri Lankan Sectoral Oversight Committees. Colin Lee, Principal Clerk, Table Office 1130 Session 2: The role of Committee Chairs CPA Room This session explored and discussed the responsibilities of the Committee Chair regarding the management of Committee business, Members and its officials in the UK and Sri Lankan contexts. Crispin Blunt MP (Con), Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee Nick Beech, Senior Clerk, Foreign Affairs Committee; Clerk, Joint Committee on National Security Strategy 1245 Lunch with UK Members who took part in Workshop in Colombo, February CPA Room 2016 Richard Bacon MP (Con) Julie Elliott MP (Lab) 1400 Session 3: Party politics and Committee work CPA Room This session explored the challenges of balancing party affiliation and committee responsibilities. Alex Chalk MP (Con), Member, Justice Committee Marie Rimmer MP (Lab), Member, Justice Committee Alberto Costa MP (Con), Member, Justice Committee 1515 Tea CPA Room 1530 Session 4 (practical session): Identifying Solutions to Common Problems CPA Room This session focused on identifying solutions to problems commonly faced by Select/Sectoral committees, in relation to the chairmanship, management or resources allocated to the Committee. How do Committees retain independence from Government? Can they ensure effective operation with limited resources? How should the chairmanship be determined? Roundtable with UK Committee Members Ian Wright MP (Con), Chair, Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee Damian Collins MP (Con), Chair, Culture, Media & Sport Committee Amanda Milling MP (Con), Member, Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee Amanda Solloway MP (Con), Member, Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee Richard Bacon MP (Con), Member, Public Accounts Committee Gavin Shuker MP (Lab), Member, Women & Equalities Committee

Rt Hon. Stephen Timms MP (Lab), Member, Education Committee 1630 Depart Houses of Parliament for Hotel 1830 Depart Hotel for Houses of Parliament with WFD Sri Lanka Country Representative for dinner Dinner hosted by CPA UK & WFD in honour of the visiting delegation Barry Room 1900 Anthony Smith, Westminster Foundation for Democracy Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh OBE MP (SNP) Andrew Tuggey CBE DL, CPA UK Rt Hon. Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab) Rt Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst MP (Con) Wednesday 26 October 0845 Depart Hotel for Houses of Parliament, Portcullis House entrance, with WFD Sri Lanka Country Representative. Delegation met by Mariam El- Azm and Helen Gardner 0930 Session 5: The role of the Liaison Committee CPA Room This session explored the role of the Liaison Committee in the House of Commons. The Liaison Committee is made up of the Chairs of each of the Select Committees and its role includes taking evidence from the Prime Minister, choosing Select Committee reports to be debated in Westminster Hall and considering general matters related to the work of Select Committees. Rt Hon. The Lord Beith, former Liaison Committee Chair Fergus Reid, Clerk, Liaison Committee 1015 Coffee CPA Room 1030 Session 6 (practical session) : Cross Examining CPA Room This session explored the practicalities of formulating questions that will get the information Committee Members need to inform an inquiry. Dr Anna Dickson, Second Clerk, Defence Committee 1100 Briefing on Prime Minister’s Questions CPA Room Rt Hon. David Hanson MP (Lab), Member, CPA UK Executive Committee 1130 Transfer from CPA Room to House of Commons Gallery 1200 Watch Prime Minister’s Questions House of Commonwealth Gallery, House of Commons Commons Gallery 1245 Roundtable lunch with Members from the Sri Lanka All Party CPA Room Parliamentary Group (APPG) This lunch provided an opportunity to UK and Sri Lankan Members/Clerks to discuss issues of common interest and network Ranil Jayawardena MP (Con), Chair

Rt Hon. Lord Naseby (Con), Honorary President Andrew Rosindell MP (Con) Ian Paisley MP (DUP) Lord Rogan (UUP) 1400 Session 7 : Engaging the media and the public CPA Room This session helped address the following questions: How can Committees respond to public interest and demand for scrutiny? How to manage the public’s expectations? How can Committees work with the media? Maev Mac Coille, Media Relations Manager, Communications Office Natasha Hallett, Select Committees Engagement Manager, Outreach 1500 Session 8 (practical session): Observing a Committee in session Committee Public Accounts Committee Oral Evidence Session Room 15 HMRC Performance & Tax Transparency Main Panel: Jon Thompson, Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary, HMRC, Edward Troup, Chair and Permanent Secretary, HMRC, Jim Harra, Director General, Business Tax, HMRC 1700 End of day Thursday 27 October 0915 Depart Hotel for Houses of Parliament, Portcullis House Entrance, with WFD Sri Lanka Country Representative. Delegation met by Mariam El-Azm and Helen Gardner 1000 Session 10: Conducting a hearing This session briefed members on the processes to follow to prepare and conduct a committee hearing and provided context to the mock hearing activity that day. Chris Shaw, Clerk, Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee 1030 Session 11 (practical session): Mock Evidence Session Inquiry: The UK Digital Economy Witnesses: Kat Hanna, Research Manager, Centre for London Conrad Poulson, CEO, Huq Industries 1230 Lunch CPA Room 1330 Session 11 (follow-up): Mock Evidence Session Report Back CPA Room

1430 Session 12: Building consensus, report writing and following-up on CPA Room recommendations 1600 Programme Debrief and Next Steps CPA Room Mariam El-Azm, Deputy Head of International Outreach, CPA UK Robert Harper, Asia-Pacific Programme Manager, CPA UK

Dina Melhem, Regional Director for MENA and Asia, WFD Priyanga Hettiarachi, Sri Lanka Country Representative, WFD Frederike Engeland, Monitoring & Evaluation, WFD 1700 End of day

Outcomes and follow-up activities

7.01. Following the success of the programme, CPA UK will continue to build the relationship between UK Parliamentarians and their colleagues in Sri Lanka by facilitating the next visit of Sri Lankan Sectoral Oversight Committee Chairs to Westminster during the current financial year.

7.02. CPA UK will explore opportunities with WFD and the Parliament of Sri Lanka to host further programmes in order to continue to strengthen links and knowledge between UK and Sri Lankan parliamentarians.

7.03. Delegates indicated the session on the role of a Committee Chair and the Mock Evidence Session as the most relevant in the programme. Feedback from the visiting delegation was very positive, with participants recording a 21% increase in understanding of the key programme areas at the end of the programme.

7.04 The chart below shows the percentage or participants who rated their knowledge of programme topics as “good” or “very good” before and after the programme. On average 91% of participants rated their understanding of key programme themes as “good” or “very good” following the programme, a 47% increase from the beginning of the week.

Pre- and post- workshop levels of understanding 120.00% 100.00% 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00%

Pre-assessment % of participants who gave "Good understanding" or "Very good understanding" rating Post-assessment % of participants who gave "Good understanding" or "Very good understanding" rating

7.05. Members indicated they would use the outcomes of the programme in their parliamentary work to prepare the first work programme for the nascent Sectoral Oversight Committees and consider committee outreach to take in ideas from the wider community. CPA UK will follow up with Sri Lankan delegates within the next six months to explore lessons learned from the programme and the progress of the committees.

Acknowledgments

8.01. Sincere appreciation is given to all the Members and officials from the Houses of Parliament who generously gave up their time to share their expertise with the visiting delegation. Many thanks to Kat Hanna, Centre for London and Conrad Poulson, Huq Industries, for acting as witnesses for the Mock Evidence Session.

8.02. CPA UK and WFD would like to thank the Parliamentary Leadership in Sri Lanka for their support in establishing this series of programmes.

About CPA UK

9.01. CPA UK is one of the largest and most active branches in the CPA community and delivers a unique annual international outreach programme in Westminster and overseas. CPA UK works to encourage parliamentary diplomacy and build parliamentary capacity on behalf of the UK Parliament and the wider

CPA. Through activities such as conferences, seminars, delegations and parliamentary strengthening teams, CPA UK provides Members with a practical, current and first-hand perspective on international issues facing fellow parliamentarians across the Commonwealth. Working with CPA UK’s international outreach programmes also enhances Members’ understanding of issues facing diaspora communities in their own constituencies.