Memorandum submitted by the Hansard Society
1. INTRODUCTION
The Hansard Society welcomes the opportunity
to submit evidence to the sub-committee's inquiry into a Parliamentary
Visitor Centre. We have tried to address as many points as possible
from your letter of 16 May 2006 but you will see that we have
not answered all your queries as some are beyond our scope, for
example, the location of any future Visitor Centre.
Our evidence draws on the Hansard Society's
report An Interpretative Visitor Centre at Parliament, which was
presented to the Group on the Information of the Public (GIP)
in May 2005 as part of our Enhancing Engagement project. [1]It
draws on qualitative and quantitative research conducted by the
Hansard Society on attitudes to politics and Parliament. [2]We
also refer to the conclusions and recommendations of the report
of the Hansard Society's Commission on the Communication of Parliamentary
Democracy, chaired by Lord Puttnam. [3]We
address specific questions asked by the inquiry in its call for
evidence, and provide further evidence which we believe is relevant
to the discussion on a visitor centre.
2. ABOUT THE
HANSARD SOCIETY
Established in 1944, the Hansard Society is
an independent, non-partisan educational charity that operates
across the political spectrum to strengthen the democratic process
and improve the relationship between the public, elected representatives
and political institutions. The Hansard Society works to promote
effective parliamentary democracy, by carrying out an intensive
programme of work aimed at strengthening the political system
and enhancing engagement in civic and political life.
Our work is divided into five main programmes:
Citizenship Educationcarries
out practical, ground level work with citizens of all ages and
backgrounds (but especially young people) that aims to broaden
understanding, knowledge and participation in the political system.
E-democracycarries out pioneering
research into how new technologies could enhance and improve the
democratic process, specifically: applying technology to improving
participation amongst people of all ages in the democratic process
and to encouraging elected representatives to experiment with
new tools of consultation and engagement.
Parliament and Governmentundertakes
high-level research to stimulate reform of political institutions
and the law-making process, and looks at new ways to enhance engagement
between the public and our political institutions.
Study and Scholarsruns one
of the most prestigious educational courses on British politics.
Primarily for overseas students, the course is accredited by the
London School of Economics and Political Science, and provides
an ideal opportunity for those who wish to experience both academic
and hands-on experience in the political process.
Hansard Society Scotlandbased
in Edinburgh, which looks at ways to inform and educate citizens
of all ages about the Scottish Parliament and wider political
institutions (including EU and Westminster) and provides an independent
platform for debate regarding development of the new Parliament.
In addition, during 2004-05 we ran a Hansard
Society Commission:
Hansard Society Commission on the
Communication of Parliamentary DemocracyThe Hansard Society
periodically establishes independent public policy commissions
to examine in depth key political issues and to make recommendations
for change. Previous commissions have radically improved the law
making and modernisation processes in Parliament. Parliament in
the Public Eye chaired by Lord David Puttnam, investigated the
relationship between Parliament, the public and the media and
made recommendations for change in May 2005.
3. DOES PARLIAMENT
NEED A
VISITOR CENTRE?
WHAT SHOULD
IT BE
FOR?
A visitor centre can be used to address barriers
to public engagement with Parliament. Many such barriers were
identified by qualitative and quantitative research conducted
for the Hansard Society in 2004 and 2005: [4]
Public knowledge about governance
in the UK, for example, the difference between Parliament and
Government and between the two Houses, is low. There is also very
little knowledge about what Parliament does, and in particular
what Parliament does outside the main Chamber and PMQs.
People have little interest in the
work of Parliamentseeing little connection between the
work it performs and their day to day life.
Views of Parliament are formed "in
the dark" and often based on superficial views of politicians
which tend to be negative, or on media coverage, that even the
public frequently criticises as cynical. People see Parliament
almost solely on the basis of set adversarial events such as PMQs
which elicited criticisms that the chamber resembled a "kids
playground".
People are resentful of the perceived
lack of opportunities for members of the public to "have
a say" in the work of Parliament. There is also suspicion
that public consultations are an attempt to placate the public
rather than a genuine opportunity to hear their views.
Consequently many see the institution
as exclusive and inward looking, and believe that there is little
pointor prospectin getting actively involved in
its work.
In our report on an interpretative visitor,
we concluded:
"While Parliament can do little to change
public perceptions of politicians, it can create a different lens
through which people view the institution, by pro-actively and
directly informing members of the public about its work . . .
A visitor centre at Parliament could be an important part of this
lens. Visitor centres can be an effective way of building public
awareness and understanding of issues, persons and the work of
political institutions. They can also be a good way of injecting
a welcoming atmosphere into institutions which, by their nature,
require high levels of security."
The demand for a visitor centre was also confirmed
by a consultation we conducted with young people in February 2005.
The participants believed that having a visitor centre would make
visiting Parliament a more informative and welcoming experience,
with some citing the example of the (former) visitor centre at
the Scottish Parliament, which they felt was "excellent and
informative" and "immediately made you feel involved."
4. WHAT SHOULD
A VISITOR
CENTRE NOT
BE FOR?
It is important that a visitor centre only forms
one component of Parliament's strategy to engage with a wider
audience and is not seen as the only answer to public disengagement.
Many of the most politically disengaged sections of society are
also the most socially excluded and may not be able or willing
to travel to Parliament. In addition as a survey of citizenship
teachers confirmed, while a visitor centre would make it more
likely that they take their students on a visit to Parliament,
there were many pressuresparticularly time and cost relatedthat
would prevent schools located far away from London from bringing
their students to the visitor centre. Any plans to design a visitor
centre should therefore be accompanied by a comprehensive outreach
strategy designed to provide access to Parliament at a local level
where people live.
In addition, a visitor centre should complement
and not replace existing opportunities to visit Parliament, including
the main chamber and select committees. In particular, Parliament
in Action tours of Parliament, based on the model developed in
the Hansard Society's Connecting Communities project, should be
offered to members of the public. [5]There
is a perception that the Capitol Visitor Centre, being developed
in Washington DC is being developed to replace public access to
the Congress. While there are understandable security concerns
which should be a consideration for any legislature, it is important
that it continues to provide a welcoming, interesting and informative
environment for members of the public who wish to visit.
5. DESIGNING
A VISITOR
CENTRE
The aim of a visitor centre should be to promote
knowledge, understanding and engagement with Parliament as an
institution. However it should be not designed in a way that makes
people feel they are being force fed information or told how to
think. This is demonstrated by the case of the visitor centre
at Sellafield Nuclear Power Station, which was originally criticised
as propagandist and was subsequently redesigned as an exhibition
to provoke a debate on alternative sources of energy rather than
merely making a case for the nuclear industry. A similar approach
was used in developing the successful Churchill Museum, which
opened in the Cabinet War Rooms in 2005.
A successful exhibition should be built with
the following objectives in mind: [6]

A. Provoke interest
It is crucially important to spark visitors'
interest at the start of the exhibition. This can be done in a
number of ways:
At the entrance to the Churchill
Museum visitors are instantly intrigued when greeted by a little
known quote from Churchill ("We are all worms, but I believe
I am a glow worm"). Similarly at the entrance to the main
exhibition at Sellafield, thought-stimulating words about energy
and nuclear power are projected on to the floor.
Displays at the Churchill Museum
tell you about the more controversial aspects of Churchill (including
his controversial role in bringing in the army to quell a strike),
as well as other lesser known sides to Churchill (eg his support
for a state pension), which, once again make you want to know
more.
Particularly at the start of an exhibition
or centre it is crucial to avoid bombarding visitors with large
amounts of textual information. Instead, appeal to different senses:
with interactive displays, visual material, sound and so on.
Several English Heritage visitor
centres (such as at Whitby Abbey) have interactive terminals chronicling
a day in the life of a historical figure. Interest in the display
at Parliament could be provoked via an interactive terminal chronicling
the life of an MP in the past, present and future.
In addition participants in Connecting
Young People with Parliament thought that a visitor centre
should include large screens with live feeds from the main chambers
and select committees, as this would contribute to a sense of
being involved.
A visitor centre in Parliament should aim to
provoke the visitor's interest in the work of Parliament, and
to leave wanting to know more.
B. Relate to personal experience
Our research suggests that one of the reasons
for a lack of public interest in Parliament is the fact that people
do not see how it affects their lives. For example, for many people
the work of Parliament is represented by Prime Minister's Question
Time, which they see as "bickering between parties"
or a "kids' playground" and which has little effect
on or relevance to their lives. [7]
The display at the visitor centre should make
the connection between the work of Parliament and people's day-to-day
lives by highlighting the varied work of Parliament, which has
a direct impact on people's lives.
For example displays and a short documentary
highlighting the work of select committees (and interviews with
current members or chairs) could be included to demonstrate the
relevance of their work to people's lives. Showing the relevance
of Parliament is one of the core objectives of the Visitor Welcome
Centre at the Canadian Parliament, and the main exhibition presents
a picture of the different work carried out by parliamentarians:
including in the chamber, the committee, the constituency, and
cabinet.
C. Reveal information
As highlighted in our interim report there is
a low level of public knowledge about the work of Parliament,
and the material in a visitor centre should take account of this.
The visitor centre at the Welsh Assembly provides
a good example of how this can be done. The displays include basic
information about the Parliament, its history and how it works,
as well as information on how it fits into the overall structure
of governance. The information is kept simple: interactive displays,
computer terminals with access to the website and pamphlets provide
more details.
In addition to this, the participants in Connecting
Parliament with Young People felt that the centre should advertise
the fact that you can receive e-mail updates from Parliament,
allowing you to develop your knowledge even further. They also
suggested that the display contain an archive of key parliamentary
speeches for people to browse through (similar to the speech archive
at the Churchill Museum).
While allowing for low levels of knowledge about
Parliament the target should be the Highest Common Factor rather
than the Lowest Common Denominator. [8]It
should not make any assumptions about what people know, nor should
it treat people as stupid or spoon feed them.
This is the aim of the interactive timeline
at the Churchill Museum, and the quizzes at the Sellafield centre.

As noted earlier it is crucial to provide a
balanced account in an exhibitionevidence suggests that
people react negatively (and view as propagandist) displays that
merely highlight the virtues of a person or institution and skirt
over its more controversial aspects. Participants in Connecting
Parliament with Young People suggest including a screen with
clips from events outside Parliament, such as different protests
that have taken place over the history of Parliament. For example,
the Sellafield Visitor Centre includes displays from anti-nuclear
campaigners and a discussion of the major accident which took
place at the plant in 1957, and the Churchill Museum addresses
his controversial actions as Home Secretary, and includes the
views of critics of his policies.
D. Entertain
The displays at the visitor centre should not
rely on large tracts of text about Parliament, but should use
a variety of media to engage and entertain the audience:
Interactive terminals: for example
the interactive quizzes at the Sellafield visitor centre are both
informative and entertaining (similarly the Timeline at the Churchill
Museum).
Audio-visual displays: short documentaries
on the history of Parliament (highlighting crucial moments in
the history), and interviews with Parliamentarians and parliamentary
commentators (similar to the documentary in the Welsh Assembly,
and those at the Churchill Museum).
Using touch: Dinah Casson argues
that to engage (and inform) the visitor it is crucial to appeal
to this often neglected sense: she points to new displays at the
British Museum which have been particularly popular. [9]Within
Parliament this could include a replica of the Speaker's Pavel,
or replicas of the Speaker's gown for visitors to try on (at the
visitor centre in Sellafield people have the opportunity to try
on different uniforms, which has proved to be a very popular attraction).
Michael Glen is emphatic that humour
is a vital ingredient for an exhibition, and repudiates the suggestion
that it trivialises or belittles. For example, at the Churchill
Museum cartoons by David Lowe are used to bring visitors' attention
to different aspects of Churchill's life.
E. Involve:
"Tell me and I forget, remind me and I remember,
but involve me and I understand."
This old Chinese proverb is a favourite of the
former Speaker, Lord Wetherill, and highlights the importance
of involving people in order to build knowledge and understanding
(and in the long term their perception).
For example, an interactive display at the Churchill
Museum presents different points of view on Churchill and Chamberlain
and asks people to vote on whether a statement (suggesting that
Chamberlain was an "appeaser" and Churchill a "strong
leader") is true. Similarly at the Sellafield exhibition,
an interactive display allows people to consider different energy
options (and hear the cases for and against), and vote on their
choice. The "Home" section of the Hansard Society's
House to Home exhibition likewise encouraged people to hear a
range of views about smoking in pubic places, and then vote on
it. [10]In
the case of the latter feedback from visitors about the exhibition
suggest that the interactive nature of the event was particularly
popular among visitors. In all three cases visitors build their
knowledge and understanding of issues by being involved in a deliberative
exercise.
In the interim report we highlighted research
which suggests that people are often put off politics by the perceived
partisanship of politicians. An interactive display at the visitor
centre in Parliament could include a similar display asking people
to select the best way of building a democratic system after hearing
the case for alternative ones (and thus highlighting the crucial
role that parties play).
Dinah Casson notes that involving people is
particularly effective when visitors are invited to "make
your mark", and leave a lasting impression on the exhibition.
[11]This
was confirmed by the success of the brainstorming tents at the
Hansard Society's House to Home exhibition in Parliament, where
members of the public, and politicians, posted thousands of post-it
notes with ideas about how Parliament could engage with them,
encouraging them to think about issues, and engage in a dialogue
with one another.
F. Widen Horizons
This is perhaps the most important objective
of an exhibition, as the core aim of the centre is to stimulate
public engagement with the institution.
Hansard Society research suggests that a major
obstacle to further public involvement in the work of Parliament
is the perception that there are few genuine opportunities to
get involved, and that politicians do not listen to the public.
The visitor centre in Parliament should strive to combat this
perception by highlighting the different ways that people can
get involved in Parliament's workthrough elections and
other means such as online consultations, petitions and so on.
In addition sections highlighting, for example, the suffragette
movement, could demonstrate how getting involved does make a difference,
while at the same time chronicling an important part of Parliament's
history.
The young people involved in Connecting Parliament
with Young People were particularly keen that the displays include
sections on how individuals can get involved in the work of Parliament,
how to contact your MP, and opportunities to email them.
6. WHO SHOULD
BE THE
MAIN TARGET
AUDIENCE FOR
A VISITOR
CENTRE? HOW
SHOULD PARLIAMENT
ATTRACT THAT
AUDIENCE?
The parliamentary visitor centre should provide
a welcoming atmosphere for all visitors with an emphasis on members
of British public rather than oversees tourists. In addition,
in designing the centre, there should an awareness that disengagement
from the political process is particularly strong amongst the
following groups:
Young people: The Puttnam Commission argued
that the introduction of citizenship education as a statutory
subject in secondary schools in England presents Parliament with
a "historic opportunity" to communicate its value to
young people and involve them in its activities. It recommended
that:
Parliament should consider its role in consistently
developing citizenship education resources and the different curriculum
approaches across the United Kingdom . . . We recommend that the
Parliamentary Education Unit should have a well resourced and
dedicated teaching space with multi-media facilities. [12]
At the same time Parliament must take steps
to actively involve young people not within the education system.
Young people aged 16-24 are widely regarded as a particularly
disengaged group and one of the main target groups of the Electoral
Commission's outreach strategy. Electoral Commission research,
for example, following the 2005 general election suggests a "cohort
effect" with "younger age groups losing (or never gaining)
the habit of voting and carrying forward their lack of interest
in voting into older age." [13]
BME groups: While Britain's Indian community
is more likely to vote than UK's white population, the people
least likely to vote (and with the lowest levels of electoral
registration) are of black Caribbean and black African heritage.
47% of people from BME voted while 62% of those classed as white
turned out. There is also evidence that there has been a decline
in participation among formerly active groups such as the Muslim
community. [14]
More broadly there is a clear link between political
disengagement and social exclusion. Key drivers of social exclusion
include: unemployment, low income, education skills and training
deprivation, health deprivation and disability, access to transport,
crime levels, neighbourhood and housing.
Designing a visitor centre along the lines suggested
in the previous section would help Parliament engage with these
target audiences and with the wider British public. Overall the
emphasis should be on demonstrating that Parliament is a working
political institution, rather than just a historic building. It
must also demonstrate the relevance of Parliament to people's
lives, particularly by emphasising work outside the main Commons
chamber. In addition consideration should be given to the following:
Creating a young person consultative
group. There is increasing emphasis in government on the importance
in involving young people not only on the design of services for
them but on wider issues that relate to them. Creating a young
person's consultative group on a visitor centre would help ensure
that the facilities provided are mindful of the needs, concerns
and interests of young people.
Providing materials in different
languages. Materials, including leaflets, publications and audio
tours, at the centre should be available in the languages of the
UK's main ethnic minority groups.
Tapping into civic networks. Awareness
of the visitor centre should be raised by tapping into the networks
and associations that Parliament's target groups are involved
insuch as by contacting temples or mosques or through youth
groups.
Maximising accessibility. The centre
and its facilities should have full disabled access and should
provide a free créche for visitors.
1 Hansard Society (2005) Interpretative Visitor
Centre at Parliament. Back
2
See Hansard Society: Audit of Political Engagement 2006 (March
2006) and Enhancing Engagement, Public Attitudes to Parliament
and Politics (January 2005). Back
3
Hansard Society (2005) Members Only? Parliament in the Public
Eye: Report of the Hansard Society Commission on the Communication
of Parliamentary Democracy, Chaired by David Puttnam. Back
4
For further information see Ram, V Enhancing Engagement,
Hansard Society, March 2004; and Hansard Society/Electoral Commission
An Audit of Political Engagement 1 and 2, 2004 and 2005.
The six indicators of engagement used are: knowledge and interest;
action and participation; efficacy and satisfaction. Back
5
The Connecting Communities model was highlighted in the Modernisation
Committee's 2004 report on Connecting Parliament with the Public.
Over 12 months, the Connecting Communities project took groups
of people, from across the country on tours of Parliament which
included a meeting with their local MP in Parliament, a visit
to the main Commons chamber and a select committee meeting. Participants
in the project were also presented with a booklet on Parliament
and how to get involved in its work before the meeting. Back
6
We are grateful to Heritage Management Consultant, Michael Glen,
for this template. Back
7
Ram, V (Hansard Society), Enhancing Engagement Interim Report,
January 2005, p 15. Back
8
Our thanks to Michael Glen again for this analogy. Back
9
D Casson, The Need to Touch, Lecture at Kings' College,
2002. Back
10
In the course of six weeks a total of 67,544 votes were logged
at the House to Home exhibition. Back
11
D Casson, ibid. Back
12
Members Only? Parliament in the Public Eye (ibid) p 60. Back
13
Electoral Commission, Election 2005: Turnout, 2005, pp
35-36. Back
14
The Guardian, 21 March 2005. Back
|