Memorandum on behalf of the Group on Information
for the Public
THE PUBLIC
ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY
IN PARLIAMENT
SINCE 2006
Summary
1. This is an account of Parliament's public
engagement work since 2006, submitted on behalf of the Group on
Information for the Public, a bicameral grouping of parliamentary
officials (terms of reference and membership is at Annex A). Following
a short description of the background, it describes the goals
for public engagement activity. It sets out who Parliament has
sought to engage with and plans for implementation before providing
a narrative of what has been achieved. At the end it gives a review
of progress so far and reviews priorities for the future. The
paper does not cover the work of individual Members of either
House, procedural innovations, such as on legislative scrutiny,
or specific initiatives such as the Speaker's Conference.
2. The timing of this account makes it difficult
to stand back and assess the activities that have been undertaken.
We do not attempt an analysis of the consequences of recent events.
Even in difficult times for Parliament's relations with the public
it is, nonetheless, apparent that negative public perceptions
on expenses claims coexist with positive experiences of personal
encounters between Parliament and the people on issues that matter
to them.
Background
3. In 2006 the administrations of the
House of Commons and the House of Lords adopted a strategy for
public engagement, which was embodied in the Business Plan of
the Group on Information for the Public, published in March 2006,
and covering the years 2006 to 2011. This Business Plan reflected
the fact that each House had incorporated public engagement into
its respective Strategic Plans for 2006-11 (see Annex B).
The plan incorporated the recommendations of the House of Commons
Modernisation Committee report, Connecting Parliament with
the Public[11]
which had been supported by a vote in
the House of Commons,[12]
and it addressed issues raised by the Puttnam Commission—Members
Only? Parliament in the Public Eye[13]
4. The key aims of the strategy were, and
remain, to inform the public about the work and role of Parliament,
to promote Parliament as something that should be valued, and
to listen and respond to feedback.
What is it trying to achieve?
5. The guiding vision was that by 2011 Parliament
should be recognised by citizens as:
— distinct from government
— holding government to account
— personal—relevant to the concerns
of individuals
6. In practice, Parliament's strategy for
engaging with the public is only one amongst many factors that
influence these outcomes. Thus, in addition to this set of goals,
the strategy has worked towards various intermediate objectives.
Critical amongst these objectives have been those related to "reach"—how
many people are engaging with Parliament—and "quality"—how
impressed are those who receive the services provided.
Who was the strategy designed to engage with?
7. At the outset it was recognised that
the strategy needed to reach five different, if overlapping, groups
in different ways and for different reasons.
8. The first group is Members of both Houses
and those who support them (their own staff and parliamentary
staff). A key thread running through all elements of the strategy
has been supporting Members in their role as ambassadors for Parliament.
9. The second group is others who are professionally
engaged with the work of Parliament, including civil servants,
NGOs, lobbyists, journalists and others. This group includes critical
intermediaries who interpret what Parliament does to others and
therefore condition the understanding that the wider public has
of Parliament's work.
10. The third group is the democratically
active. These are people who vote and take an interest in politics,
policy and current affairs.
11. The fourth group are "democratic
outsiders" who are not (yet) interested in politics, policy
and current affairs and those who do not participate in the political
process.
12. The final group is young people, both
within the formal education system and informally. Particular
attention has been given to this group through Parliament's Education
Service directly and through other initiatives that have had the
potential to reach them.
13. The expectation was that public communications
would be focused on the needs and interests of users rather than
producers, and hence be subject based, community based and diverse.
Implementation
14. Three main areas of interlinked work
have shaped the plans: engaging through the web and other media;
engaging through visits to Parliament; and engaging with and in
communities across the UK.
15. The potential of the web featured strongly
in the considerations of the Modernisation Committee and also
the Puttnam Report. The first priority was a radical redesign
of Parliament's presence on the web including enriching existing
content and developing new content and opportunities for the public
to interact with Parliament.
16. Visits to Parliament leave a lasting
impression on those who come. It was recognised, however, that
there would be severe constraints of space, of reconciling public
accessibility with the operational needs of a working Parliament
and of security. It would be important to prioritise. The strategy
put a particular premium on educational visits.
17. Engaging with communities across the
UK was recognised as an essential third strand to the strategy,
but was seen as something that would build in importance during
the five year period. Important issues, such as the relationship
between what it is right for Parliament as an institution to do
in this area to complement the work of individual elected constituency
MPs, would take time to work through if they were to succeed.
18. Successful implementation would also
require involvement of officials across all departments of both
Houses. The House of Commons Group on Information for the Public
(GIP) already had a good track record in co-ordination and oversight
of communications activities carried out by individual departments
and was asked to take the lead in delivering the new mandate for
engagement. In recognition of the increasing emphasis on Parliament-wide
communications, the Clerks of both Houses agreed that the House
of Lords representation on GIP should be increased to include
a member of the House of Lords Management Board (Elizabeth Hallam
Smith). They also agreed that GIP should be chaired by a member
of the House of Commons Management Board (John Pullinger).
What has been achieved so far—web and other
media
Web
19. A business case for investment in the
parliamentary website was developed during 2005 and agreed
by both Houses in early 2006. A key feature was that a radical
redesign would not be simply a "big bang" change but
would instead be the development of an ongoing capability. This
would enable continuous adaptation as the medium itself developed.
New content and functions would be released regularly each parliamentary
term. This approach would maximise flexibility and control cost.
20. Successive changes have been made to
the Parliament website to make more information available and
to make it more accessible. The first of the new releases, comprising
a new navigational structure and new homepages for Parliament
and for each House, were introduced in September 2006, along with
an About Parliament section giving over 100 pages
of explanatory material and a store of images. Since then new
features have been released as shown in Annex C.
21. A particularly significant milestone
was the introduction of a capability for Committees to run online
forums. Such forums had previously been run on behalf of the Parliament
by the Hansard Societ,y but with an in House capability it has
been possible for many more Committees to reach the public in
this way. Since they were set up the forums have received 63,600 unique
visitors making 120,200 visits (as of May 2009). Forums run
since 2007 are:
— Local Government and the Draft Climate
Change Bill (Joint Committee on the Draft Climate Change Bill)—August
2007
— Draft Human Tissue and Embryo Bill (Joint
Committee on the Draft Human Tissue and Embryo Bill)—August
2007
— Medical care for the Armed Forces (Defence
Committee)—February 2008
— E-petitions—Procedure Committee—April
2008
— Domestic Violence (Home Affairs Committee)—June
2008
— Recruitment and retention in the Armed
Forces (Defence Committee)—July 2008
— Justice Reinvestment (Justice Committee)—July
2008
— Engineering in the UK (Innovation, Universities,
Science and Skills Committee)—October 2008
— Young Engineers (Innovation, Universities,
Science and Skills Committee)—December 2008
— Post Offices: Securing their Future (Business
and Enterprise Committee)—March 2009
— Aid Under Pressure (International Development
Committee)—April 2009
— Students and University (Innovations,
Universities, Science and Skills Committee)—April 2009
— Traditional Retail Markets (Communities
and Local Government Committee)—April 2009
— People and Parliament (Lords Information
Committee)—current
— Role of the Prison Officer (Justice Committee)—current
— Speaker's Conference (Speaker's Conference)—current
22. Another major milestone was the launch
of an entirely new set of Education Service web pages (2008) which
has received numerous plaudits from users such as these from 11-12 year
olds:
— "It's probably one of the easiest
websites I've ever used"
— "The games are very good. They
help you and they could help you with your future. Say if you
wanted to study politics in the future… they can help you
know which politician is which"
23. The introduction of a new information
architecture across the main site (2009) heralds a further phase
of major improvement.
24. The core measures used to gauge progress
on the development of the site have related to usability. The
usability index of key aspects of the site[14]
increased positively between September 2006 and February
2008, as shown in the following diagram:
25. User satisfaction by core task has also
increased over the same period:
26. An online survey conduced on the website
in July 2008 received over 2,500 responses. Users were
asked to rate the site against a number of criteria—key
findings were:
— Ease of navigation: 61 per cent
of users rated the site as good or very good (very good = 21 per
cent)
— Visual appeal: 57 per cent of users
rated the site as good or very good (very good = 17 per cent
)
— Currency of information: 77 per
cent of users rated the site as good or very good (very good =
35 per cent)
— Quality of information: 80 per cent
of users rated the site as good or very good (very good = 35 per
cent )
— I can trust the site: 84 per cent
of users rated the site as good or very good (very good = 51 per
cent )
27. New channels more recently introduced
are beginning to establish themselves as useful means to experiment
with low cost new ways of reaching new audiences:
— Lords of the Blog: over 150,000 views
and over 3,500 comments from the public in its first year
from March 2008
— YouTube: approximately 220,000 views
including over 64,000 coming directly to the site since launch
in May 2008
— Flickr: 140,000 views since summer
2008
— Twitter: 1,000 updates since start
of service in June 2008. 6,700 followers
— FriendFeed: 150 subscribers
— Google Profile: 12,000 impressions.
2,000 views
— Parliament Labs blog: 9,700 views
since launch in September 2008
Broadcasting and webcasting
28. Linked to the work taken forward within
the internet programme described above, there has been a major
upgrading of the facilities for broadcasting and webcasting of
parliamentary coverage. Changes to the rules of coverage have
also supported improved broadcasting of Parliament. The webcasting
site was redesigned in 2006, and functionality has been upgraded,
for instance to allow access while a meeting is taking place.
Since 2007 there has been a programme to install unattended
webcams in committee rooms, which is still ongoing. In 2008 the
current audio visual archive was extended from 28 days to
one year.
29. As well as our own efforts, this period
has also seen a substantial increase in viewers to BBC Parliament,
which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year. We have worked
closely with the BBC and other web and broadcast media organisations
to ensure the widest possible audience for parliamentary material.
Media and communications services
30. Complementing the bicameral web and
broadcasting services, each House has its own dedicated media
and communications service. The House of Lords press office (staffed
currently by the Head of Press and Media and one assistant) forms
part of the Information Office. Its focus is on publicising the
functions and work of Select Committees, the Chamber and the House
more broadly, as well as handling media enquiries and working
with officials across both Houses to improve public information
and access.
31. The House of Commons Media and Communications
Service (MCS) promotes better understanding of, and engagement
with, the work of the House and its committees in print, broadcast
and online media; provides a professional media service for journalists
and serves as a central press office for media enquiries; provides
strategic media and communications advice and support to all House
Departments and Committees, and works with officials across both
Houses to improve public information and access.
32. In 2006 the service was expanded,
with the addition of two Select Committee Media Officers (SCMOs)
bringing the total to 5. Each SCMO works directly to 4 or
5 committees. The ability to promote the work of Select Committees
and encourage innovative approaches to media publicity and public
engagement has been significantly enhanced. In its report on the
work of Committee in 2007-08, the Liaison Committee noted: "Many
committees noted the favourable media coverage their inquiries
and subsequent reports had received. Wide media reporting of committees'
work helps to set the political agenda. It also enables committees
to reach people outside Parliament so that they in turn influence
our work."[15]
33. In addition to enhancement of support
for Select Committees a central point of contact for all media
enquiries about business and procedure in the Chamber and Westminster
Hall was established in 2006.
34. More recent developments in 2008 include
an expansion of the photography and design service, increasing
use of social media and a weekly e-briefing on future business
in the Chamber and Westminster Hall. The service provided has
continued to broaden its scope, most recently adding media work
for the Works of Art Committee and the new regional Committees
to its remit. A new media monitoring service has been procured,
to include broadcasting as well as print and online media.
35. In 2009 a new and ambitious strand
of work has been introduced, aiming to deliver a wide range of
explanatory coverage focused on the work, role and history of
the House, and the role and day to day working lives of its Members.
What has been achieved so far—visitors
36. The March 2006 business plan identified
four strands of work to improve services for visitors: to create
a parliamentary visitor centre that would provide access to all
(recognising the needs of minorities and those with disabilities);
to provide a proactive welcome to Parliament for visitors of all
kinds; to work effectively with other local institutions who can
help Parliament meet its objectives; and to mount a programme
of exhibitions linked to improving engagement of the public in
the work of Parliament. According to the 2009 Audit of
Political Engagement, 31 per cent of the public report
that they have visited the Houses of Parliament, and visits provide
an opportunity to improve understanding of the work and role of
the institution in a very direct way.
Parliamentary visitor centre37. A business case
for the development of a parliamentary visitor centre was developed
during 2005 and 2006 but eventually foundered on the
issue of funding. Alternative approaches to the improvement of
facilities were investigated that could improve capacity without
excessive cost. In April 2007 the House of Commons Administration
Committee published a report Improving Facilities for Educational
Visitors to Parliament.[16]
The recommendations were supported by the House of Lords Information
Committee report of the same name[17]
and approved by both Houses.[18]
These reports considered that educational visitors are an obvious
priority. The main recommendation was for the development of a
dedicated space for educational visitors that could accommodate
100,000 learners each year. Whilst plans have been prepared,
realisation is still some years away.
38. In the meantime the Parliamentary Education
Service has recognised the priority given by both Houses to increasing
the number of educational visits. Numbers of visits have increased
from 11,000 in 2005-06 to 36,000 in 2008-09.
39. The Education Service has been increasingly
creative in finding the space in which to conduct educational
visits and will continue to look for opportunities to expand where
this is feasible although there is currently no identified further
capacity that could be used. The content of educational visits
has also been thoroughly overhauled with a new, expanded and curriculum-related
educational visits programme launched in October 2007. Comments
on the visits programme include:
— "the combination of meeting the
local MP, tour of Parliament and workshop provided a stimulating
experience for the children. The children had a first hand experience
of Parliament which stimulated their thinking and consolidated
previous learning." (primary school teacher)
— "the visit was an excellent introduction
to Parliament—the Education Service was well organised,
informative and very friendly. It is a testament to the day that
I will arrange visits for the next academic year" (6th
form college teacher)
— "I felt the whole session was
fantastic with quick activities with continual feedback. The speaker
was fantastic, setting out clear learning objectives that were
successfully delivered during the lesson with the activities that
had been prepared. I also really like the way the local MP is
invited also to talk to the students" (secondary school
teacher)
Comments received on some of the events include:
— "It was a really useful experience…
and I'm looking forward to continuing the discussion … in
the next lesson…. Particularly thought provoking"
(secondary school teacher at Speaker's Conference event)
— "I think it made a lot of people
determined to change things… at first, not many people were
interested in politics but by the end of it the majority of people
were interested because it was inspirational… it was a good
day" (secondary school pupil at Schools Question Time)
— "I think all of us enjoyed it,
even the ones that were not politically motivated to do it. It
was fun to do and it was a great sense of achievement at the end
of it…" (secondary school pupil at Schools Question
Time)
40. A pilot scheme in early 2009 offered
a transport subsidy to state schools visiting through the Education
Service from remote constituencies, in support of a recommendation
of the House of Commons Administration Committee. The proportion
of visits booked from areas outside London and the South-East
rose from about one third to about two thirds in each of the first
two terms covered. In addition the proportion of visits from state
schools has increased from about 80 per cent to about 90 per
cent.
41. As well as providing a facility for
schools to visit, the Education Service established in 2007 a
Teachers' Institute. The Institute is designed as a week
long course offered to newly qualified citizenship teachers, hosted
in Parliament and including meetings with Members of both Houses
as well as training and materials to help teach Parliament in
schools. It has proved very popular and will be expanded as resources
permit.
Proactive welcome
42. Parliament has offered tours of Parliament
both during sitting times and in recesses for many years. In the
period since 2005, the strategy has been to improve the welcome
visitors receive and to find innovative ways of enriching a visit
to Parliament so that all visitors leave with a better understanding
of the institution than when they arrived.
43. Central to the strategy has been the
recruitment of a team of Visitor Assistants. This team has been
progressively expanded over the period and now provides a service
at all times when either House is sitting. Their task is to welcome
visitors and help ensure that their needs are met. This has been
especially important for visitors with disabilities. A characteristic
comment is: "I just wanted to thank you for facilitating
the visit of N. to the Palace of Westminster last week. N. is
deaf and blind and really appreciated the opportunity and the
kindness of the guide who made everything possible."
44. A critical milestone was the opening
of the Cromwell Green entrance in April 2008. Arrangements at
the new entrance have improved the security of access, the quality
of the welcome and the capacity of handling, which is up to 500 visitors
per hour. Linked to this development has been the introduction
of a visitor information desk in Westminster Hall. Staff at the
desk have recorded over 1,700 points of contact with visitors,
have given out over 49,000 factsheets and 16,000 other
publications.
45. An Introduction to Question
Time session was introduced during 2008-09 for visitors
on Mondays and Tuesdays who join the public queue for tickets
for the public gallery. As well as enhancing understanding of
Question Time and giving an opportunity for questions, a further
benefit has been an increased length of time which visitors spend
in the gallery.
46. There have been small increases in visitors
to the Summer Opening each year since 2006 when 87,000 people
came. Tickets are sold and the operation is intended to be cost-neutral
over a three year period. The 2008 Summer Opening exceeded
the planned target of 90,000 visitors and the programme is
on target to break even over the three year period 2007-09.
47. A small tester survey was conducted
during the 2008 Summer Opening to assess whether or not the
tour had any influence on how people perceived the role of Parliament
and MPs. The survey asked a sample of 50 visitors over a
two week period, questions whilst visitors queued for tickets
and at the end of the tour. The results are shown in the table
below.
|
| Question | Before
| After | Change
|
|
| If you had a total of 10 points to share out between the historical content of the tour and the political content of the tour, how would you allocate the points based on your interest at this time/now you have taken the tour
| History: 6.4
Politics: 3.5
| History: 5.6
Politics: 4.4
| History: -0.8
Politics: +0.9
|
| Scoring out of 5, with 5 being very important, how important do you believe/now believe the work of Parliament to be?
| 4.5 | 4.6
| +0.1 |
| How relevant do you believe/now believe Parliament is to you?
| 3.8 | 4.0
| +0.2 |
| How well would you say you (now) understand the role of your MP in working for you?
| 3.4 | 4.0
| +0.6 |
| How likely are you (now) to vote in the next general election?
| 4.9 | 4.9
| 0 |
| How do you (now) score the value for money of the tour?
| 4.2 | 4.9
| +0.7 |
|
48. Attendance at the London Open House weekend continues
to rise: in 2008 there were 2,271 visitors to Portcullis
House on the Saturday (up 23 per cent on the previous year),
and 3,537 visitors to Westminster Hall on the Sunday (up
80 per cent on the previous year). The figures for 2007 were
1,840 and 1,965 respectively. For the first time, the
Westminster Hall chamber was opened, enhancing the level of parliamentary,
rather than just architectural, information that could be given.
This will be built upon in the next Open House weekend.
Working with other local institutions
49. Throughout the period we have maintained good relations
with Westminster Abbey, Westminster Council and the Greater London
Authority as well as other local institutions such as the Churchill
Museum and the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA).
Phil Reed, Director of the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms,
sits as a non-executive member on the bicameral Parliamentary
Visitors Board, the group of officials which co-ordinates issues
connected with visitors.
50. During 2007 and 2008 both Houses worked
closely with the World Squares for All project which had developed
plans for pedestrianisation and other improvements to the Parliament
Square area. This project had the potential significantly to improve
the experience for visitors to Parliament but was not taken forward
by the incoming Mayor of London.
Exhibitions
51. Exhibitions since 2005 have included the Gunpowder
Plot, the Act of Union, Parliament and the Slave Trade, the political
caricature of Gerald Scarfe, the Life Peerages Act, and the King's
High Table. Debating activities were staged as part of the Dod's
Your Parliament exhibition, aimed at engaging young people,
in 2008. Smaller exhibitions have continued to be available in
a variety of locations such as the Upper Waiting Hall.
52. A range of activities are being undertaken in 2009 to
mark the 150th anniversary of Big Ben. This has included a dedicated
website that will run throughout 2009, and a Christmas card competition
for schools as well as activities on site. 2009 also sees
the start in Westminster Hall of a four year travelling exhibition
Connecting with Communities.
What has been achieved so far —engaging with communities
53. Both Houses of Parliament have for many years produced
publications and responded to enquiries from the public (by telephone,
in writing or by e-mail). These services have continued to form
an important part of the strategy for engagement with those people
who do not use the web or do not visit Parliament. Until 2005,
however, the main focus was on those people who approached Parliament
seeking information. The emphasis of the new strategy has been
to take Parliament to all citizens across the UK. The challenge
has been to extend reach from the tens of thousands who are already
motivated to contact Parliament to the tens of millions who are
not.
Young people
54. The initial area for development was young people.
An education outreach service was launched, after initial pilot
work, in 2006. Outreach officers work with schools and train and
support teachers in delivering the political literacy elements
of the curriculum as well as supporting Members of both Houses
in their own outreach work in schools. In each of the last two
years they trained some 1,000 teachers across the UK.
|
| Teachers and PGCE
students reached by
education outreach service
| Pupils reached
by education
outreach service
|
|
| 2006-07 | 481
| |
| 2007-08 | 1,049
| 1,537 |
| 2008-09 | 1,076
| 5,619 |
|
This team also works closely with other organisations such
as the Association of Citizenship Teachers and other professional
bodies and jointly hosted, in 2008, the Crick plus 10 event
in Parliament. The Education Service has a partnership with the
BBC and Institute for Citizenship to deliver the Schools Question
Time project. Partnership working is increasingly central to efforts
to reach as many schools and teachers as possible.
55. Two new educational films were produced in 2006,
You've Got the Power and Democracy? You Decide,
which are made available to schools with accompanying teaching
resources free of charge. These films won awards in 2007 at
the New York Festival's Film & Video Awards and the International
Visual Communications Association Awards. You've Got the Power
has since been updated, and all the films are now available as
video clips on Parliament's YouTube channel. Educational publications
have been kept under continuous review to ensure their usefulness
to teachers in the classroom.
New voters' guide
56. The production of a guide for new voters was proposed
in the House of Commons Modernisation Committee's report Connecting
with the Public. Following research with new voters, a guide
was launched in July 2006. It is designed to encourage new voters
to exercise their right to vote. Evaluations have been very positive.
The guide has stimulated a high level of engagement and discussion
of the document and politics in general between recipients, friends
and family. On reading the document recipients claimed certain
actions as a result:
— 45 per cent talked to family or friends about
politics
— 44 per cent read about politics in a newspaper
— 38 per cent watched politics on the television
news
— 7 per cent said that they had gone to visit political
websites
57. Individuals receive the publication close to their
18th birthday and the cumulative reach has grown progressively
since 2006 as shown in the table below.
|
| Total number of new
voters' guides issued
|
|
| By December 2006 | 220,000
|
| By December 2007 | 716,000
|
| By December 2008 | 1,191,000
|
|
Parliamentary Outreach Service
58. The 2006 strategy for engaging with the public
suggested that, subject to political agreement and the necessary
financial approvals, a network of regional centres might be established,
These would be focused on communities and their interests. They
would draw on Members as an asset as well as on local infrastructure.
There might be partnerships with public libraries but there would
be a diverse approach suited to each locality. The goal would
be to create the third leg of a "three-legged stool"
with engagement in communities complementing engagement online
and through other media and engagement through visits.
59. A research project was commissioned to explore the
options. This was conducted by the Hansard Society and a report
(Reaching the public) published in July 2006. The report
concluded that if Parliament is concerned to promote increased
public understanding of its role and work, particularly among
so-called hard-to-reach groups, it should invest in regional outreach
officers—initially on a pilot basis—to deliver outreach
programmes in existing local settings.
60. This proposal was worked up and endorsed by Committees
in both Houses. Some pre-pilot work was carried out to test the
concept during 2007-08, including a highly successful week of
activities in Cornwall. Two pilot regions were chosen, the East
of England and Yorkshire and The Humber and a full programme of
activities conducted in these regions during 2008-09.
61. Parliamentary Outreach works with community groups
and voluntary sector organisations, at national and regional levels,
and with the museums, libraries and archives sector to raise awareness
of Parliament, increase knowledge of parliamentary processes,
and encourage engagement. The team also supports Select Committees
in their calls for evidence and regional evidence sessions, the
new regional committees, the Speaker's Conference and travelling
exhibitions, such as the Parliamentary Archives' Connecting
with Communities exhibition and an exhibition on suffrage
in Essex.
62. Between July 2008 and April 2009 statistics
for the outreach service are:
— 2271 attendees at events
— 36 generic Get Involved training sessions
delivered
— 66 tailored sessions delivered with third sector
organisations
— 331 meetings held with voluntary sector organisations
— 335 contacts made at conferences etc organised
by voluntary sector organisations
— 2449 named individuals contacted (most frequently
emailed) about parliamentary initiatives, who in turn disseminate
to their contacts
Following a review of progress in the pilots it was agreed
to expand the programme to operate UK-wide during 2009-10.
Outreach in the House of Lords
63. The appointment of the Lord Speaker has heralded
a specific stream of outreach activities that work with and complement
the Parliament-wide outreach programme. The House of Lords appointed
a Head of Outreach in January 2008 to develop its engagement
activities, and the Outreach and Engagement Strategy 2008-11 was
approved by the Information Committee and Management Board in
October 2008. This outlines plans to connect external audiences
with the work and members of the House of Lords through outreach
visits, events within parliament, online initiatives and cross-platform
projects.
64. 187 visits to schools have taken place since
the Lord Speaker launched the Peers in Schools programme in 2007,
involving over 10,000 young people and nearly 80 peers.
During 2008 a number of events were held in the House of
Lords for young people and other audiences. These include the
UK Youth Parliament in May 2008, when over 250 MYPs debated
in the House of Lords chamber (the UK Youth Parliament will meet
for the first time in the House of Commons chamber in 2009), and
a lecture series in the Robing Room to mark the 50th anniversary
of the Life Peerages Act.
Review of progress to date
65. Three levels of success measures were identified
at the start of this paper. Measures relating to satisfaction
with the services offered (their quality); measures relating to
the reach of those services; and measures relating to the impact
or outcome.
Quality
66. Improvements in quality have been especially marked
in relation to the website. Against rapidly rising expectations,
the parliamentary website has moved from scoring badly against
benchmark sites and getting low scores for usability and user
satisfaction to scoring well on all these dimensions. The approach
taken to development of the site, where new developments are guided
by intensive usability testing with different groups of users
based on tasks they wish to perform, has allowed a transformation
to take place. This is very encouraging. As those charged with
leading these changes, however, we believe that even faster change
is possible and it will be necessary to raise our levels of agility
in future to meet continually rising aspirations and technological
possibilities.
67. As well as these changes, the quality of broadcasting,
webcasting and media services has dramatically improved with the
availability of up to 18 channels of parliamentary content
and dedicated professional media support for Select Committees
and other parts of the parliamentary business.
68. The quality of visits has also improved. The introduction
of Visitor Assistants has transformed the welcome received by
all visitors and materials used to inform and engage visitors
have been radically overhauled, especially for education visits.
69. In addition, the quality of the service received
by those who do not use the web or visit is much better. The international
awards won by the educational films are a good example of the
level of excellence we strive to meet in everything Parliament
does in this field.
Reach
70. Work to extend reach has focused strongly on young
people. In three years the number of education visits has risen
by a factor of three (from 11,000 to 36,000). Well over 1 million
new voters have been reached through the new voters' guide. In
addition, by expanding the quality of the information made available,
we have helped other organisations reach more people. Good examples
are our work with schoolteachers, the growth of audience for BBC
Parliament and the increase in coverage for Select Committees
across the range of print, broadcast and online media.
71. The development of new channels such as use of YouTube,
Facebook and Twitter also enables further extension of reach as
does the Parliamentary Outreach Service which is engaging communities
across the UK in Parliament's work, helping them understand what
happens here and how to have a voice.
Impact
72. In terms of quality and reach progress has been good.
In terms of impact on the outcomes the strategy seeks to attain
it is much harder to tell. The goal is that by 2011 Parliament
should be recognised by citizens as:
— distinct from government
— holding government to account
— personal—relevant to the concerns of individuals
Such outcomes are affected by the broader political context:
the electoral cycle; popularity of the government; the state of
the nation; and views on the conduct of Members of Parliament
to name but a few.
73. In 2008, the Hansard Society conducted research which,
amongst other things, sought to assess public opinion on the measures
set out in the strategy. The survey findings (based on fieldwork
by ComRes in June 2008), set out in the report Parliament and
the Public: Knowledge, interest and perceptions, were that
only 49 per cent disagreed with the statement "government
and Parliament are the same thing" suggesting that one in
two members of the public are not confident that there is a difference.
Functions most popularly associated with Parliament were "debating
and passing laws" (42 per cent), "holding ministers
responsible for their actions (42 per cent), and "taking
up the concerns of individual people" (38 per cent).
Just 19 per cent agreed that Parliament is working for them
(52 per cent disagreed). On the other hand, nearly half (48 per
cent) agreed that Parliament undertakes important functions that
no other body can undertake (a quarter disagreed) and half (49 per
cent) disagreed with the statement "Parliament is not relevant
to the lives of ordinary people" (27 per cent agreed).
74. The 2009 Audit of Political Engagement
conducted by the Hansard Society (with field work conducted by
Ipsos MORI in December 2008) indicates that there has been only
modest change in what they call the "core indicators".
However the indicators of interest in politics and propensity
to vote are likely to be influenced by the electoral cycle, and
these indicators are higher in December 2008 than at the
same stage in the last cycle. If an upward trend has superimposed
itself on the cyclical pattern then this would suggest some modest
progress. It is also noteworthy that the reported knowledge of
politics has increased by 6per cent between 2004 and 2008,
though only to 48per cent.
75. A further piece of evidence comes from the Ipsos
MORI 2008-09 In Perspective report (based on fieldwork
conducted in June 2008), which shows that over the last decade
there has been a ten point decline in those people who disagree
that they feel more and more remote from political institutions.
Sir Robert Worcester, who acts as an advisor to the Chairman of
the Group on Information for the Public, notes that this finding
is counter-intuitive given a widespread view that there has been
a precipitous decline in public engagement with politics. Negative
public perceptions coexist with many positive experiences that
individuals have with politicians and Parliament on specific issues
that matter to them.
76. Other Ipsos MORI research findings indicate that
in over three decades since 1973, the level of people's interest
in politics has remained stable at around 60 per cent. Sir
Robert Worcester suggests that this finding indicates that the
lower turnouts in the past two elections have not been because
of "apathy", but rather of "disengagement"
with the political process and the efficacy of voting.
Analysis
77. Parliament's work to engage with the public has changed
significantly over the last four years. The quality of services
has gone up and the reach of service has been transformed from
an operation that deals with tens of thousands of enquirers each
year to one that seeks to reach tens of millions, either directly
or indirectly.
78. Assessing the progress against the goals for impact
on public perceptions of Parliament is difficult because there
are so many influences on perceptions of Parliament and its Members
and considerable ambiguity between Parliament the institution
and its Members. Whilst it is difficult to attribute any improvements
in outcomes directly to Parliament's public engagement strategy,
without a programme of empirical research, the evidence in the
period up to the end of 2008, perhaps counter-intuitively, seemed
to show modest movement in the right direction.
PRIORITIES FOR
THE FUTURE:
ATTAINING THE
VISION
79. The central priority is to make a further step change
improvement in reach. The challenge remains to extend reach from
the tens of thousands who are already motivated to contact Parliament
to the tens of millions who are not. This is likely to come about
largely through support for intermediaries. Work with teachers
(in schools and universities) will remain a key group but so too
will work with partner organisations such as voluntary organisations
and broadcast, print and online media. It will be about getting
the work of Parliament better understood through the everyday
activities of others.
80. Quality will remain important. Innovation and new
product development will be critical. Use of the web must continually
evolve and innovate (and quickly) if it is to stay relevant and
engage its audience. Major current intiatives are:
— to make procedural content much easier to use and
re-use on the web
— to improve the search engine
— to improve content management
— to integrate text and audio-visual content
— to develop new features, such as educational games
81. The quality of the visitor experience needs a systematic
overhaul. At certain times Parliament currently invites more people
than it can get into the building given current security arrangements.
A comprehensive review is taking place during 2009 to look
at this. This review is examining:
— improvements to security facilities in Black Rod's
Garden
— the possible re-phasing of visits to reduce bottlenecks
at the Cromwell Green entrance
— the visitor experience and visitor management
— arrangements in Westminster Hall
— visitor impact on the fabric of the building
In addition a strong focus will be needed to deliver the
planned education facility.
82. Changes to the quality of outreach services will
also be likely to be rapid as the service learns what works and
innovates in its use of materials and the relationships it can
create. Particularly strong possibilities present themselves through
closer working with the museums, libraries and archives (including
film archives) sectors.
83. We also expect to undertake more evaluation work
to assess the success of the programme as a whole and to help
guide future developments. Existing work with organisations such
as Optimum Web and the Hansard Society as well as advice from
experts such as Phil Read and Sir Robert Worcester will be complemented
by a greater use of research and analysis across the board.
84. It is important to recognise that there are risks
and unknowns as well as opportunities in looking forward. Three
areas stand out. The first is financial pressure. Whilst spending
on public engagement remains small in relation to overall spending
by Parliament, budgets will inevitably be tight. The second is
the new Parliament. The changes that have taken place within the
current Parliament have been led by Committees of both Houses
seeking to pursue this agenda. A new Parliament will have its
own priorities which may be different. The third is, of course,
the many other events that impact on public understanding and
appreciation of Parliament.
CONCLUSION
85. The current Parliament has called for radical change
in the work it does to engage with the public. This work has been
designed to complement the work done by individual Members of
both Houses. A five-year strategy running from 2006-2011 has
been adopted by both Houses and work has been taken forward on
a largely bicameral basis.
86. The strategy has involved engagement using the web
and other media, engagement through visits to Parliament and engagement
in communities across the UK. There has been a substantial amount
of innovation. Those using the services on offer give positive
feedback on their quality and the reach of services has moved
from tens of thousands to millions. More evaluation work is needed,
but our initial assessment is that the work that has been done
so far has had a useful positive impact, especially on young people.
John Pullinger
Chairman, Group on Information for the Public and Librarian and
Director General, Information Services, House of Commons
Elizabeth Hallam Smith
Director of Information Services and Librarian, House of Lords
May 2009
11
June 2004, HC 368 2003-04. Back
12
26 January 2005. Back
13
Report of the Hansard Society Commission on the Communication
of Parliamentary Democracy, May 2005. Back
14
Marked on a scale of-2 to +2, where-2 represents very
dissatisfied, 0 is neutral, and +2 is very satisfied. Back
15
March 2009, HC 291 2008-09, paragraphs 117-119. Back
16
April 2007 HC434 2007-08. Back
17
HL Paper 117 2006-07. Back
18
HC-12 June 2007; HL-16 October 2007. Back
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