House of Commons Commission Twenty-Fifth Annual Report 2002-2003 Report


Introduction by The Speaker


This report of the House of Commons Commission for 2002/03 chronicles a challenging year for the House administration: supporting increased levels of activity in a wide range of services; responding to new demands upon us as a result of legislative and other changes; and making plans for the future.

In previous years, this report has in effect been a series of different reports: one from the perspective of the Commission, one from the Board of Management, and one from each Department of the House. This year, for the first time, the annual report reflects the developing corporate nature of our administration, and the strategic character of our planning. It sets out how we have tackled the four core tasks set by the Commission: supporting the House and its committees; supporting individual Members and their staff; providing information and access to the public; and maintaining the heritage of buildings, objects and documents. It also shows how our plans for the future take forward our eight developmental objectives.

Much of the work of supporting any parliamentary institution is often described as 'business as usual'; but, as will be clear from the pages that follow, in the last year this included significant increases in activity - in questions and amendments tabled, select committee work, pages of Hansard published, network usage, meals served, and in many other areas. The need for flexibility was underlined by the speedy and effective arrangements made to support the recall of the House on 24 September 2002.

'Business as usual' involves delivering high-quality services in a demanding environment; but at the same time the House administration has had to cope with change. The most evident was the introduction of new sitting hours, on an experimental basis, from January 2003. Although some areas of work have been little affected, the changes have put some groups of staff under considerable additional pressure. With the help of the Board of Management, the Commission is monitoring the effects and assessing the longer-term implications.

As an administration we continue to respond to rapid change in the technology of information and communications, both with new systems and new ways of working; we are strengthening our risk management and contingency planning; we are preparing for the requirements that the Freedom of Information Act 2000 will impose upon us; we have successfully implemented resource accounting and budgeting; and we are meeting a range of new business requirements, such as e-tabling of questions, draft bills, and core tasks for select committees. On a more sombre note, we have had to respond to the increased terrorist threat with new security measures.

We already co-operate closely with the administration of the House of Lords in a number of shared services (such as estates, works services and information and communications technology), or services provided by one House to the other (such as the Parliamentary Archives, the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, the Education Unit and the Central Tours Office). With the recent establishment by the House of Lords of a House Committee with functions similar to those of the Commission in respect of this House, we look forward to closer joint working in the future.

The cash outturn for the Administration Estimate for 2002/03 showed a 0.4 per cent underspend on the Estimate of £141.2 million. The Commission has agreed a medium-term financial strategy which will provide a modest additional sum over the next four years for essential investment. The House administration seeks to achieve value for money in all its activities, and we are grateful for the support of the Audit Committee in pursuing this objective. To put our expenditure in a wider context, and as one of the tasks of the House is to call the Executive to account, it is worth noting that the cost of supporting all the House's activities is equivalent to some 0.03 per cent of general Government expenditure.

In a complex organisation which relies on high levels of knowledge and skill, we attach great importance to training and developing staff, who are our principal resource. They need to be equipped to respond to the changing demands of the House and the environment in which we operate. We are also strongly committed to increasing the diversity of our workforce.

I take particular pleasure in expressing the thanks of the House of Commons Commission to all the staff of the House for what they have achieved over the past year. I also record our appreciation for those Members who have contributed to the work of the administration, both through the domestic committees and in other ways.

I would like to mark the special contribution of two outstanding servants of the House. Sir William McKay, KCB, the Clerk of the House and Chief Executive of the House Service, retired on 31 December 2002 after 41 years' service. Bill McKay combined his profound knowledge and understanding of every aspect of the House with the new responsibilities of Chief Executive following the Braithwaite Review, and oversaw a period of major change in the House administration. I am glad that he will retain a link with the House through his Editorship of the next edition of Erskine May from his new post as Professor in the School of Law at the University of Aberdeen. Ian Church, the Editor of the Official Report, joined the House in 1972 after an early career in journalism, and retired on 18 October 2002. He became Editor in 1989, saw Hansard successfully through a time of great technological change, and was the longest-serving member of the Board of Management. Both Bill McKay and Ian Church have our best wishes for the future.

Improving public understanding and knowledge of the House, and thereby increasing its accessibility, is one of the Commission's key aims. It is especially important at a time when there is a widespread feeling that Parliament needs to do more to "re-connect" with the public. Pages 33 to 40 of this report describe the contribution which the House administration is making to this effort, through information and services delivered via the internet, educational work and the schools programme, the work of the Information Office, visitor tours, broadcasting and webcasting of proceedings, and in many other ways.

I hope that this annual report, too, will contribute to a greater understanding of the work of the House of Commons and how it is supported.


Michael J. Martin MP

Chairman of the House of Commons Commission


 
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Prepared 2 July 2003