Miguel Angel Gonzalo

Webmaster. Congress of Deputies

Communication, digitalisation of processes and transparency in Parliaments (Parli@ments on the Net XIII) 16 -17 April 2015

Agenda 1. Parliamentary publicity 2. From the classical concept of publicity to the

categories of transparency and the right to access public information

3. The situation in Spain 4. Measures adopted by the Congress 5. Active transparency 6. The right to access public information about the

Congress or passive transparency 7. Conclussions

• The publicity of parliamentary action is an important principle relates to the communication of constitutional parliament’s activities.

• In political life there might be spaces for privacy and agreement, but when it comes to the parliament we find ourselves where “politics becomes public”

1. Parliamentary publicity

• Publicity of the Congress’s parliamentary activity has been traditionally conducted through: • the presence of people in plenary sittings • communication between the media and citizens • Official Gazette and the Journal of Debates

• Now publicity is conducted through: • web pages • digital edition of official publications • parliamentary channels • social networks

1. Parliamentary publicity

2. From the classical concept of publicity to the new categories of transparency and the right access public information (1)

• Our society has been demanding an additional step in transparency, not only with regards parliament but also to all State’s powers and other private entities which have an influence in public powers

• Access to public information generated by parliament regarding their activity is • an “element vertebrating the Social and Democratic

State” • a “key element for citizens oversight of the

exercise of power”

2. From the classical concept of publicity to the new categories of transparency and the right access public information (2)

• Transparency is part of the paradigm of an open government

• Transparency is the first step towards the setting up of standing areas of participation and accountability

• Citizens are demanding to know: • how is public money spent? • which is the real procedure leading to the

adoption of agreements in a Chamber? not in general terms but in every single case?

3. Open Parliament

Open Parliament is that which: • communicates all parliamentary activities and the

information on the institution and its members in a transparent way and in open formats understandable for citizens

• opens spaces for citizens involvement and for their cooperation and that of civil servants

• has channels to actively listen to citizens’ needs, including social networks or discussion platforms

3. Elements that characterize an “open parliament

1. Transparency in the first place, as the basis for the pyramid of democratic enlargement. Transparency is not only a one-way, but a two-way process. It is not only about open data, but about listening as well 2. Citizen involvement understood as decision processes and not only opinion making ones 3. Accountability understood as well as accountability processes with regards to the actions undertaken

4. The situation in Spain

• The Transparency, access to public information and good governance Act (TA) was adopted around one year ago, (Act 19/2013, December 9), with a view of extending and developing transparency in public activities

• Who are subject to the requirements of TA? • The State’s administration • The administration of the Autonomous

Regions (regions) • Local Administration (municipalities and

other similar entities) • Other public entities.

4. The situation in Spain (2)

• The second article of Transparency Act includes “The Household of HM the King, the Congress of Deputies, the Senate, …”, specifying that such bodies shall be subject “as regards those activities subject to administrative law”.

• The TA has a great significance, since it covers a large spectrum of matters and up until now, there was not obligations for transparency

• The Transparency Act came into force on December 10, 2014

5. Measures adopted by the Congress

• The Congress has been taking gradual steps both as regards to active transparency, by means of the publication in its web page • information on on the MPs economic regime • publicity of the declarations of assets and

activities • The Bureau of the Chamber, in its meeting of

January 20, 2015, adopted the Rules for the enforcement of the provisions of Transparency Act.

6. Active transparency

• First relevant decision was taken in the sense of making available all information in a “Portal of Transparency”, and doing so in a clear, structured and accessible way

• The Portal has five main sections: A) On transparency B) Institutional and organisational information; C) Economic, budgetary and contractual information; D) Access to information and relation with citizens E) Open Data

6. Active transparency

A. On transparency

• Rules • Standing Orders of the Congress of Deputies • Rules for the adaptation of the provisions of

Transparency Act

B. Institutional and organisational information (1)

1. Functions 2. Bodies of the Congress 3. Members of Parliament

• MPs expenses and allowances • MPs welfare programme • Declarations of assets and activities

4. Parliamentary groups

Expenses and allowances

Declarations of assets and activities

B. Institutional and organisational information (2)

5. Parliamentary administration • Remunerations for the positions appointed by

the Bureau of the Chamber such as the Secretary General, Deputy Secretaries General and Directors

• Active compatibilities for civil servants 6. Parliamentary initiatives 7. Parliament Channel and Congress Live

Remunerations - Secretary General, Deputy Secretaries General and Directors

B. Institutional and organisational information (2)

8. Voting • Access to the details on the voting in plenary

sittings 9. Complementary documentation of legislative initiatives

• Access to the dossiers accompanying legislative initiatives including the memorandum, economic file, attached reports and, where appropriate, mandatory reports by the State’s bodies, such as the Constitutional Court

C. Economic, budgetary and contractual information (1)

1. Budgets of the Congress and budgetary implementation

• The budget of the Congress, which was not public so far, is now published up to a high level of detail

• Quarterly implementation is published which allows to check the evolution of expense as well as an annual report on budget compliance

Budget of the Congress

C. Economic, budgetary and contractual information (1)

2. Contracts Since the entry into force of TA , detailed data on minor contracts are likewise provided, being such contracts those which do not amount annually to more than 50.000€ for works and 18.000 € for the rest of cases

C. Economic, budgetary and contractual information (2)

3. Planning 4. Agreements 5. Subsidies and public aids

• Subsidies for parliamentary groups 6. Assets of the Congress

• Real State • Moveables and rights • Historical-Artistic Heritage • Bibliographical and documentary heritage • Transport elements (vehicles):

7. Trips

D. Access to information

1. Information request form 2. Information for Citizens Unit

• Frequently asked questions to the Information for Citizens Unit and to the attention channels for the parliament, together with the answers

3. Information of the web page • Web map • Accesibility • Legal notice • Web statistics

4. Registry of the Congress

E. Open data

Voting Currently, data are provided in XML format on the voting cast in the plenary sittings of the X Legislative Term

6. The right to access public information of the Congress or passive transparency (1) • Maximum recognition of the subjective right to

submit a request • No electronic identification mechanisms are

introduced to submit an information request. The use of certain electronic certificates in the Transparency Portal of the State’s General Administration has been largely criticized understanding that it hinders the exercise of the right to access.

6. The right to access public information about the Congress (passive transparency) (2)

• The right to access covers public information of the Congress, regarding both parliamentary activity and that subject to administrative law. There are different limits for each case.

• The deadline for answering is one month. • The Secretary General shall settle the requests. • The person requesting information whose request

is denied, can initiate a legal procedure before the Supreme Court

7. Conclussions

• The Congress of Deputies has deployed a remarkable effort to fully comply with the obligations laid down in the Transparency Act

• The compliance of the TA entails a review of administrative procedures, for example, as regards the publicity of contracts

7. Conclussions

• In the mid-term, adapting to transparency entails a change of mentality of the parliamentary administration itself, since from then on a steering principle of the actions of administrative services shall be “that the public information of the Chamber is an asset at the disposal of citizens”

• The more public information provided by the chamber in the transparency portal (active transparency), the less necessary to devote efforts to reply to citizens’ requests for information (passive transparency).

7. Conclussions

• There is always room for more efforts as regards active transparency; however, all the new information made at the disposal of citizens during these last years represents an important step forward in the quality of democracy.

Thank you very much Miguel Angel Gonzalo @miguelgonzalo