DELEGATION REPORT 2 Introduction 1. The 64th Westminster Seminar on Parliamentary Practice and Procedure took place from November 30 to December 04, 2015 at Houses of Parliament, London. The Seminar is an annual event and is considered the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s (CPA) flagship capacity- building programme for first-term parliamentarians and newly appointed procedural and committee Clerks from across the Commonwealth. 2. The aim of the Seminar is to strengthen the knowledge, skills and confidence of first-term Members of Parliament and newly-appointed Clerks in the core aspects of their work of parliamentary practice and procedure within a Westminster framework. 3. The six (6) objectives of the 64th Westminster Seminar were: Objective 1. To provide an overview of the leadership and administrative functions of Parliaments with the purpose of ensuring good governance. Objective 2. To promote an understanding of parliamentary practice and procedure with reference to legislating and scrutinising the executive, as well as ethics, standards and accountability. Objective 3. To clarify the role and responsibilities of parliamentarians in balancing their commitments as either a minister or backbencher, their work in the constituency/community, party discipline and transparency, cross-party relations. Objective 4. To develop skills and abilities to carry out the work of a parliamentarian/Clerk with specific reference to committee work, parliamentary questions, engagement with the public, media and other stakeholders. Objective 5. To explore the several sources of information and advice available to Members/Clerks. 3 Objective 6. To provide an opportunity for the first-term parliamentarians and newly appointed Clerks to network with their counterparts from across the Commonwealth. Parliamentary Delegation 4. The delegation to the 64th Westminster Seminar on Parliamentary Practice and Procedure comprised: . Hon. Dr. Lovell Francis, MP, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education and Leader of the delegation; . Mrs. Glenda Jennings-Smith, MP; and . Ms. Sheranne Samuel, Procedural Clerk Assistant, and Secretary to the delegation. 5. The delegation departed Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday November 28, 2015 and arrived in London on Sunday November 29, 2015. 6. The delegation departed London on Sunday December 06, 2015. 7. The programme of activities is provided in Appendix A. {Day 1} Tour of Houses of Parliament 8. Prior to the start of the Westminster Seminar, there was an opportunity for delegates to go on a tour of the Houses of Parliament. It was an official tour conducted by a professional tour guide, covering the official line of route including both Chambers of the House. The Tour was attended by Ms. Sheranne Samuel, Procedural Clerk Assistant. 4 Welcome and Introductions. Overview of the Seminar Programme 9. The 64th Westminster Seminar on Parliamentary Practice and Procedure was opened with a welcome from CPA UK’s Executive Committee Chair, Ian Liddell-Grainger MP. Session 1: Introduction to the Westminster System and Key Current Challenges 10. Participants were introduced to the Westminster System of parliamentary democracy, with an exploration of its development and identification of the key challenges that parliamentary institutions now face. 11. Chairing the session, Rt. Hon. David Hanson MP, Shadow Minister for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), highlighted devolution arrangements, reform of parliamentary expenses and dealing with the sheer volume of communications enabled by modern technology as some of the key issues facing Westminster. 12. Lord Lisvane KCB, Member of the House of Lords and former Clerk of the House, gave a brief overview of the development of the modern Westminster System, before outlining some of the specific practical upgrades to its infrastructure urgently needed by Parliament. 13. The last panellist in this session, Charlotte Leslie MP, Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for International Development (DFID) and the FCO, briefed participants on the UK’s expenses scandal of 2009 and the impact it has had on the relationship between MPs and their constituents. In her conclusion, she urged her Commonwealth colleagues not to become overly concerned with administration and power structures when there were global issues of huge and wide-reaching significance that parliamentarians must face, not least the ways in which their countries should respond to pressing threats to national and global security. 5 Hon. Dr. Lovell Francis, MP and Mrs. Glenda Jennings-Smith, MP reviewing the seminar booklet Session 2: Overview of the Legislative Process 14. The legislative process was explored in the second session, chaired by Tim Loughton MP, – a topic that was further explored in later sessions. 15. Liam Laurence-Smyth, Clerk of Legislation in the House of Commons, gave an overview of the passage of legislation, highlighting the particularities of Westminster’s bicameral system. 16. Jessica De Mounteney, Senior Parliamentary Counsel in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, outlined her office’s role and why it exists in the UK. 17. The discussion highlighted that the level of support to backbench members in regard to legislative advice greatly varies, in different jurisdictions, in particular when it comes to private members’ legislation. Session 3: Parliamentary Administration, Finance and Governance 18. This session was an opportunity for delegates to compare Parliamentary administration, finance and governance with Nigel Evans MP, Member of CPA UK’s Executive Committee, chairing. 6 19. David Natzler, Clerk of the House of Commons, opened the session by updating participants on the recent changes to Parliament’s governance. This saw the creation of the post of Director General to sit beneath and work alongside the Clerk of the House. The Director General is broadly responsible for administration and the Clerk of the House is responsible for governance, practice and procedure. However, Mr. Natzler emphasised that this is a new and developing structure, and that the way the Clerk and Director General work together is likely to change incrementally over the coming months. 20. Another particularly prominent theme in this session, and a hugely pressing issue for Westminster, was the restoration and renewal of the ancient Palace of Westminster to make it fit for purpose as a modern Parliament. Ian Ailles, the newly-appointed Director General, outlined the considerations in planning this project, as well as the more general and constant modernisation required for Parliament to keep pace with the ever- changing requirements of its Members and staff and also the general public. 21. Finally, Andrew Makower, Finance Director of the House of Lords, gave an overview of the governance and administration of the UK’s second Chamber, as well as the delineation between the arrangements of the two (2) Houses. 22. The ensuing discussion was focused on the issue of funding of Parliament and whether/how it may affect the independence of the institution. 7 Session 4: Role of the Speaker Rt. Hon. John Bercow, MP addresses participants of the 64th Westminster Seminar on Parliamentary Practice and Procedure 23. The Rt. Hon. John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons, outlined his role, emphasising the importance of impartiality and the appearance of impartiality. He also discussed his work as a champion of Parliament, supporting and developing the role of backbenchers, scrutinising government and promoting the institution to the general public. 24. The Lord Speaker, Rt. Hon. Baroness D’Souza, CMG then gave an overview of the system in the House of Lords, a self-regulating Chamber, where the role of the Speaker was created only ten (10) years ago. She stressed the very different role of the Lord Speaker, which is often not so much focused on order in the Chamber, but rather on promoting and protecting the reputation of the House and trying to inform the wider public not only about what the House does, but how the members of the public can influence the work of its Members. 8 25. Rt. Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst MP, a Member of CPA UK’s Executive Committee and its former Chair, chaired the session. A Conversation – What Gives Parliament its Power? 26. The first day of the programme concluded with an opening lecture at Speaker’s House entitled, ‘What Gives Parliament its Power?´ Chairing, Charles Walker OBE MP, former Chair of the Procedure Committee, envisaged a more powerful, central role for Parliament in democracy, holding the executive to account and having its say in national decision- making. 27. Professor Meg Russell of the Constitution Unit at the University College London explained the perceived distinction between the ‘arena’ Parliament (Westminster System) and the ‘transformative’ Parliament (for example the US Congress). She argued that the UK Parliament does have demonstrable legislative influence and power over the executive through the mechanism of the confidence vote. Prof. Russell described Westminster’s power as ‘the power of exposure, of testing government policy in public.’ 28. Sarah Champion MP, Shadow Minister for Preventing Abuse, encouraged her colleagues to recognise Parliament as a theatre with huge visibility and the power to shine a light on issues of national importance. She used examples from her own experience to demonstrate ways in which backbench MPs can influence legislation and policy, in her case, in the critical area of protecting children from abuse. 29. This session was followed by a reception hosted by Ian Liddell-Grainger, MP, Chair, CPA UK Executive, at the Speaker’s House. {Day 2} 30. MPs and clerks attending the 64th Westminster Seminar separated for a detailed examination of the different roles they play in Parliament. 9 Members’ Sessions Session 5A: Role of an MP 31. For this session on the role of an MP, Valerie Vaz MP, outlined the conflicting priorities of constituency, party and parliamentary work. She stressed the importance of time in constituency and meetings with constituents, concluding that ‘at the end of the day we are there to serve the people, and the people put us there to do so.’ 32.