6 Learning the ropes
90. The House Service provided a considerable
number and variety of training courses, but according to the General
Election Planning Group in May 2011 take-up by Members of briefings
and talks was "disappointing". The Hansard Society,
too, has noted that support 'in principle' by the main parties
of induction and training programmes did not noticeably translate
into attendance at those programmes by new Members.[62]
Only about 19% of new Members attended at least one session;
few individual sessions achieved an attendance of more than six,
and a number were cancelled for zero attendance.
91. In 2011 the House Service told us that it
is proposing next time round, on the basis of the experience of
2010, to offer a more extensive training programme to Members
and their staff as part of 'Business as Usual' activity over a
much longer period, with a mix of formal briefings and opportunities
for informal learning which are better co-ordinated and advertised
to Members. In spite of their low attendance at offered training
sessions, Members continued to report a need for more training
and information: nearly two-thirds of new Members, for example,
sought more support on parliamentary procedure.[63]
The lesson to learn from this may be that new Members (and, indeed,
their returning colleagues) do need training in aspects of parliamentary
procedure and other matters, but that they may not need it or
have time for it in the rush of their first few weeks in office.
92. The Institute for Government argues that
MPs need more professional training:
Our starting point is that MPs, both new and existing
ones, do not receive sufficient access to high quality development
and mentoring support on a continuing basis of the kind that they
would have, and expect to receive, in other organisations in the
public, private and voluntary sectors.[64]
Peter Riddell, the Institute's Director, told us
that induction "should not just be the first few days or
even weeks. It needs to be over a much more extended period."[65]
Peter Riddell also agreed that it would be a good idea to make
some training available on the web to watch, thereby reducing
the reliance on when guest speakers are available.[66]
93. We recommend that training
and professional development provided for Members is an activity
which should be undertaken for the course of a parliament, not
just as an element of induction. It should be provided in a variety
of formats to cater for different learning styles and time availability
and should be offered at times that suit individual Members, rather
than fixed slots.
94. The Institute is working with the House's
General Election Planning Group to provide training for MPs post-2015,
and, like the Hansard Society, will seek to use existing MPs and
other political figures to inform their new peers about how parliamentary
life and government work. Peter Riddell noted that many new MPs
arrive at Westminster highly skilled in winning elections and
highly knowledgeable about their constituencies and about politics,
but with limited knowledge of the workings of government or legislation.[67]
It is fair to say that the skills that win a campaign are not
the same as those required for detailed line-by-line scrutiny
of legislation or the forensic questioning of select committee
witnesses. The Institute
suggests that follow-up activities be carried out perhaps six
weeks or two months after the election to focus on first impressions
gained by new MPs and on how they can be more effective at Westminster.
It also suggests specific training for new select committee members.
These are sensible ideas and it is welcome that the General Election
Planning Group is already discussing them with external bodies
including the Institute and the Hansard Society.
95. Another opportunity for new Members to learn
is through the range of books available about Parliament, its
processes and the work of an MP. (These can be borrowed from the
House of Commons Library). Existing Members have commented that
there are a variety of books which helped them in their first
days at Parliament, and still do. For example, Robert Rogers and
Rhodri Walters, How Parliament Works, 6th edition
(2006), which we look forward to seeing an updated version of
soon. We recommend that
the House Service provides new Members with a reading list of
reference materials as another source to help them learn about
Parliament in their own time.
96. One Member told us of being unaware of training
courses, attributing this to not having had a permanent office
during the first few weeks.[68]
Others have told us that they were unaware of the range of training
on offer. There appear to be two broad reasons for this: first,
the many challenges facing a brand new Member may make training
a fairly low priority in the early weeks in the job; secondly,
the House's internal communications are not always effective at
reaching Members, as this Committee has also noted in other circumstances
in regard, for example, to the range and provision of catering
outlets or Members' responsibilities for the fire safety of their
staff. This is not entirely the fault of the House Service: much
information is sent to Members by email and post and is made available
on the House's intranet, but we must accept that Members are not
always aware of information that has been provided (again, fire
safety responsibilities are a good example of this). There is
little point in the House communicating information which Members
are not, for whatever reason, receiving.
97. We recommend that the
House Service discuss with a focus group of Members how best to
ensure that essential information is not only transmitted to Members
but received by them. This might include consideration of providing
a simple hardcopy directory of key services to Members, similar
to those found in hotel rooms.
98. We recommend that each
new Member arriving on the Estate should be assigned a suitably
experienced member of House staff who will meet them on arrival
on the Estate and look after them. This member of staff could
act as their main point of contact in the short-term for communicating
logistical information but in the medium-term be a guide to resources
about the House and its procedures.
99. The House Service deserves credit for trying
to reach Members through different communications channels and
to engage the Whips of the main parties in promoting training
programmes in 2010. The low take-up of the training on offer
suggests that this effort did not entirely bear fruit.
100. We will write to the
Leaders of all parties represented at Westminster to encourage
more proactive support by the parties of the training programmes
put in place for 2015.
62 Ruth Fox and Matt Korris, A Fresh Start? The Orientation
and Induction of new MPs at Westminster following the 2010 General
Election, Parliamentary Affairs (2012), No. 65, p. 562 Back
63
Ruth Fox and Matt Korris, A Fresh Start? The Orientation and Induction
of new MPs at Westminster following the 2010 General Election,
Parliamentary Affairs (2012), No. 65, p. 574 Back
64
Ev 32 Back
65
Q 1 Back
66
Q 5 Back
67
Q 1 Back
68
Ev 46 [Kate Green] Back
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