Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions
Newly elected Members
1. The
information pack received by winning candidates on election night
was a new idea, and was generally found useful by Members. It
is welcome that this approach is to be repeated. (Paragraph 3)
Arrival at
Westminster
2. The House Service
is to be commended for the detailed planning and efficient work
that made arrival at Westminster a relatively smooth experience
for 227 new MPs in May 2010. (Paragraph 5)
Finding an office
3. Although
it is fair to note that the 2010 new intake was far larger than
that in 2005, and that the added complication of a coalition Government
being formed also delayed decisions on what accommodation would
be allocated to which party, its Members and their staff (around
250 room moves resulted from changes in Ministers), we feel that
every attempt should be made to reduce the time it takes to allocate
offices. Some Members felt that it was troublesome that the allocation
of rooms took so long. (Paragraph 11)
4. We are not recommending
that the Whips should surrender the ability to allocate offices;
there are very good reasons for their continuing in this role
whilst working closely with the Members' Accommodation Manager.
(Paragraph 14)
5. The House's accommodation
managers and staff are to be commended for their efficiency in
moving Members into their new offices once the party Whips had
allocated them. (Paragraph 17)
6. We think that the
provision of serviced offices as temporary accommodation for new
Members and their staff is not a viable proposal: the cost would
not represent value for money; accommodation is unlikely to be
available very near to the Palace; and it would be difficult to
guarantee a rental contract for only short period of time. (Paragraph
21)
7. Despite serviced
offices for every new Member and their staff being prohibitively
expensive we support the current policy of the Department of Facilities
that a small amount of decant accommodation should exist near
the Estate. (Paragraph 22)
Funding and the Independent Parliamentary Standards
Authority (IPSA)
8. IPSA
has taken welcome steps to learn lessons from a less than satisfactory
induction performance in 2010, but 2015 will be a further test
that a more customer-focused ethos has become embedded. (Paragraph
32)
Staffing matters
9. Rather than the
House Service, it is for the political parties to have processes
in place to ensure that their candidates are suitably aware of
the challenges they will face [as employers] if they win a seat
in the House. (Paragraph 49)
Provision of IT equipment
10. The
shift to working less with paper, in a more mobile way and remotely
from the Estate has been recognised by Parliamentary ICT (PICT),
but at the moment there are certain limitations that prevent full
use of mobile devices. The Director of PICT told us that these
constraints should be removed with the move of IT services to
the cloud, another reason for us to support such a change. (Paragraph
66)
11. We recognise the
benefit of providing access to multi-functional devices, and thereby
a choice of cheaper bulk and colour printing, which could allow
Members to use their own IT equipment allowance in a more efficient
way. (Paragraph 76)
12. We support the
proposal that PICT continues to loan IT equipment to Members.
(Paragraph 78)
13. We appreciate
that PICT has made numerous attempts to bring external broadband
suppliers to account and is as frustrated as Members are in trying
to improve services but PICT should continue to challenge them
to deliver an optimum service for the House. (Paragraph 86)
Learning the
ropes
14. The Institute
for Government suggests that follow-up [training] 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. (Paragraph 94)
The responsibility of Members
15. Although
others may be able to help, the ultimate responsibility for being
a good Member of Parliament, fully aware of our responsibilities
as parliamentarians, constituency Members and employers, lies
with each one of us ourselves. (Paragraph 102)
Recommendations
Induction for new MPs
16. We
recommend that members of the Administration Committee should
be actively involved in the planning for the election - perhaps
as part of the General Election Planning Group. We would also
expect that the Whips be engaged by the House Service in planning
as soon as possible. (Paragraph 2)
17. We recommend that
the House Service agrees to report to us by May 2014 on what steps
are being taken to ensure that all returning officers hand a welcome
pack to newly elected Members on election night. We also ask it
to consider other methods of delivery and to assess the cost versus
the benefit of such methods: for example placing it online or
providing a simpler substitute for the New Members Guide. (Paragraph
4)
Finding an office
18. We
recommend that a note on accommodation should be developed by
the House Service and the Whips to be included in the information
pack which is handed to the newly elected Member on election night
by the returning officer. In order to manage expectations, this
should reiterate information in the New Members' Guide: how long
Members can expect to wait for accommodation; the locations available
on the Estate; the roles and responsibilities of the Whips and
the House Accommodation and Logistics Service; and the fact that
space is planned on the basis of a Member and two members of staff.
(Paragraph 16)
19. We recommend that
MPs who have announced that they are standing down and Members
who occupy an office which is scheduled to be refurbished during
the dissolution should be told by the Whips to pack up their offices
at the point of dissolution. We also recommend that Members who
are defeated at the election should be told by the Whips to pack
up their offices within five days of polling day. (Paragraph 25)
Funding and the Independent Parliamentary Standards
Authority (IPSA)
20. We
recommend that a dedicated phone number, adequately staffed, should
be established by IPSA which is open at least 9am - 5pm each working
day specifically to support new Members in the first three months
after the election. This should be in addition to its telephone
service for returned Members. (Paragraph 31)
21. We recommend that
IPSA work with the House Service to ensure that new Members have
access to information on which hotels offer parliamentary rates
and how they can be claimed in order to facilitate temporary living
accommodation in the first few weeks on arrival in Westminster.
(Paragraph 35)
22. We recommend that
IPSA seriously explores the model often used by businesses with
expatriates relocating to other cities or countries (i.e. provision
of an initial budget and the services of an estate agent). If
it is established by May 2014 that such a scheme is not viable,
then we strongly recommend that the amount on the pre-paid payment
card is appreciably increased from £500 to cover the initial
reimbursable costs for the first few weeks, including potential
hotel bills. (Paragraph 37)
23. We recommend that
a dialogue takes place between IPSA and the House Service in order
to develop, before May 2015, a payment system related to office
accommodation which reflects the variety of ways in which Members
want to run their offices. Unintended but inefficient incentives
to base staff at Westminster should be addressed. (Paragraph
43)
Staffing matters
24. We
recommend that there is clarification from the Personnel Advisory
Service (PAS) and IPSA on their respective roles in providing
advice to new Members on staff matters. (Paragraph 47)
25. We recommend that
the functions of Personnel Advisory Service be more heavily emphasised
in both the written material sent to new Members ahead of arrival
at Westminster and in the New Members' Reception Area. (Paragraph
50)
26. We recommend that
staff from the Personnel Advisory Service make telephone contact
with the offices of all new Members before the summer recess after
the general election to ensure that new Members are aware of the
services on offer. (Paragraph 51)
27. We recommend that
the Personnel Advisory Service should be provided with additional
resources during the immediate pre and post-election period in
order to meet demands from departing and new Members. (Paragraph
52)
28. We recommend that
IPSA, the House Service and the political parties consider the
feasibility of providing Members with access to a pool of short-term
administrative staff during the first three months after a general
election. (Paragraph 54)
29. We recommend that
IPSA develops, and more vigorously promotes, training available
for Members' staff, which could be offered via the internet, video
conferencing or face to face outside London. (Paragraph 56)
Provision of IT equipment
30. We
recommend that a tablet and a laptop should be the first pieces
of equipment offered to all Members after the 2015 election. The
tablet should be in addition to the current allowance and should
come with a SIM card. This provision of a tablet would replace
any tablet available as part of the current select committee pilot.
The laptop would come from the IT equipment allowance for Members
provided by PICT. (Paragraph 71)
31. We recommend that
PICT wind down its current smartphone service and cease this after
the next election. (Paragraph 73)
32. We recommend that
in order to allow more choice and the opportunity for new and
existing Members to spread the procurement of IT equipment over
time, directly after the 2015 election PICT should enable Members
to select from a catalogue of IT equipment, including a range
of products from most major manufactures, up to the equivalent
value of the current provision. (Paragraph 82)
33. We recommend that
to enable a catalogue-based approach the Members Estimate Committee,
under the provisions of Standing Order No.152D(3)(b), further
amends the Resolutions of the House relating to IT provision to
include, with effect from the date of the next general election,
the sub-clause:
(c) or, as an alternative to (a) and (b), a different
mix of business standard equipment from the prescribed catalogue
up to the same value. (Paragraph 83)
34. We recommend that
PICT consults this Committee by May 2014 on the detailed mechanics
of how the post-2015 scheme for providing IT equipment to Members
would work in practice. (Paragraph 84)
35. We recommend that
PICT offers Members "dongles" (wireless modems that
plug into PCs or laptops) to alleviate any problems with broadband
as soon as a delay occurs until the problem is fixed. (Paragraph
87)
36. We recommend that
PICT establishes a model office in a central location on the Estate
where Members can drop in and learn more about the cloud, Microsoft
Office 365 and different devices. This would alert existing Members,
who of course may return in 2015, to the possible changes to their
IT. PICT should encourage Members to adopt new ways of working
in the current Parliament so that the impact of the change in
2015 is minimised. (Paragraph 89)
Learning the ropes
37. 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. (Paragraph
93)
38. 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. (Paragraph 95)
39. 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. (Paragraph 97)
40. 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. (Paragraph 98)
41. 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. (Paragraph 100)
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