Parliament

Kate AndersonSeptember 2014

Parliament’s Outreach Service

• a free service from the Houses of Parliament

• politically neutral

• aims to increase knowledge and engagement with work and processes of Parliament

Objectives

By the end of this presentation, you will know:

• what Parliament is

• what Parliament does and why it is important

• the difference between Parliament and Government

• how to find out more

What is Parliament?House of Commons House of Lords

The Monarch

The Queen

The Queen

The House of Lords

The House of Commons

What does Parliament do?

Makes and passes laws(Legislation)

Holds Government to account

Enables the Government to set taxes

The Government

• the party with (usually) the majority of seats in the House of Commons forms the Government

• the Government:– runs public departments (e.g. Home Office)– suggests new laws to Parliament– is accountable to Parliament

Parliament (Westminster)

• Commons, Lords and Monarch

• holds Government to account

• passes laws

Government (Whitehall)

• some MPs and some Lords, chosen by the Prime Minister

• runs Government departments and public services

• Your MP’s contact details will be on the Parliament website: www.parliament.uk

• You can call the House of Commons Information Office on 020 7219 4272

• Or at your town hall or local library• Many MPs will have a contact address and number

in the constituency

Where to start: your MP

All-Party Groups

• informal cross-party groups on many different subjects, e.g.– Youth Affairs– Asthma– Football

• APGs, sometimes called APPGs, are a useful way to identify MPs/Lords with an interest in a certain issue

• Members of the House of Lords do not have constituencies, so in theory, you can contact any member

• Identify Peers who will support your campaign• Biographies of all Peers are available at

www.parliament.uk• Hansard is a good place to look for examples of

Peers’ interests and causes

Peers

Where can I get information?

• www.parliament.uk and @UKParliament

• Commons Information Office020 7219 4272 hcinfo@parliament.uk

• Lords Information Office020 7219 3107 hlinfo@parliament.uk

• Parliament’s Outreach Service020 7219 1650parliamentaryoutreach@parliament.uk