Submission by Aileen Walker, Director
of Public Information, House of Commons (SC-30)
SUBMITTER
1. Aileen Walker is Director of Public Information
and has worked at Parliament for 26 years in a variety of
roles. Although her post is based in the House of Commons, in
the Department of Information Services, most of the teams for
which she is responsible provide services to both Houses.
BACKGROUND
2. The Public Information Directorate plays
a key role in supporting Parliament's strategy of engagement with
the public as outlined in both Houses' corporate plans and in
the Group on Information for the Public (GIP)[82]
business plan. The strategy builds on the agenda set out by the
Modernisation Committee in its report, Connecting Parliament
with the Public,[83]
and the Hansard Society Commission on Parliament in the Public
Eye[84]
(the "Puttnam Commission").
3. The changes to the Administration of
the House of Commons in January 2008 brought the House of
Commons Information Office, Parliament's Education Service, the
Parliamentary Outreach programme, Visitor Services and Public
Information projects together into a new Public Information Directorate
within the Department of Information Services. This change is
facilitating closer collaboration and joint planning around the
development of our inter-related services.
4. These services work closely with other
colleagues in both Houses, particularly the Web Centre, the Media
Service, the House of Lords Information Office, Head of Outreach
in the House of Lords, the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit, and
Parliamentary Archives to deliver Parliament's public engagement
strategy, as overseen by the Group on Information to the Public
(GIP). There are three main strands to the public engagement strategy:
Welcoming visitors to Parliament
STRATEGIC AIMS
5. The three general aims of the strategy
of engagement with the public are:
To inform the public about the work and role
of Parliament:
The creation of content for the Parliament
website.
Publications that explain the role and
work of Parliament and support public understanding of the business
of the House.
Support for the Citizenship strand of
the National Curriculum, through the Education Service.
A varied programme of educational visits
to Parliament for schools.
Distribution of the new voters' guide.
To promote Parliament as an institution and
describe why it should be valued:
Raising awareness of the services offered
by the Information Office and Education Service.
Outreach activities in the community
and in schools.
Contributing to the development of new
facilities and services for visitors to Westminster, such as a
proactive welcome and support for exhibitions.
Working with other organisations who
share our aims, such as the Electoral Commission, Hansard Society,
BBC, etc.
To listen to the public by seeking and responding
to feedback:
Answering enquiries and Freedom of Information
requests from the public.
Seeking and responding to feedback from
teachers and the general public on the products and services we
offer.
6. GIP's vision is to improve the public
understanding of Parliament, so that it is recognised by citizens
as:
Distinct from government.
Holding government to account.
Personalrelevant to the concerns
of individuals.
CURRENT PRIORITIES
7. Following recommendations in the Administration
Committee (HC) and Information Committee (HL) reports on Improving
Facilities for Educational Visitors to Parliament[85]
- covering not only education services,
but also welcoming visitors to Parliament, regional outreach officers
and the parliamentary web siteboth Houses approved plans
to improve services to the public. The current priorities of the
Public Information Directorate are now centred around the main
recommendations approved by both Houses, namely:
Providing a dedicated space for educational
visitors to Parliament enabling the Education Service to welcome
100,000 learners a year.
Developing curriculum-based tours for
Members' school groups.
Devising and running a pilot transport
subsidy scheme to encourage school groups from remoter constituencies
to visit Westminster.
Developing the parliamentary outreach
programme with regional outreach officers working throughout the
UK.
Improving arrangements for managing visitors
to Parliament.
82 GIP is a bicameral meeting of senior officials which
sets Parliament's public engagement strategy Back
83
June 2004 (HC 368 2003-04) Back
84
Members only? Parliament in the Public Eye, May 2005 Back
85
April 2007 (HC Paper 343 2006-07). Back
|