Administration and Financing of Parliament Presentation by Douglas Millar, formerly Clerk Assistant and Director General of Chamber and Committee Services in the House of Commons

Parliamentary background Fluctuating demand for services Increasing demands from Members (and staff) Maintenance of Parliament’s traditional roles Political dimension to all decisions about services

What services are required Procedural services: Chamber and Committees Library and Research Accommodation and office Services Security IT Finance and payroll Joint House services

Who controls the Budget of Parliament? In UK it is different between the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Commons votes its own budget. The Lords is part Government expenditure. The House of Commons can vote its own budgetary resources, BUT Increasing scrutiny of expenditure resulting from an increasingly critical press and the publication of information under the FoI Act What is important is that Parliament can within limits spend what is required to do its job properly. A parliamentary Commission to oversee services?

Staffing Staff are an important resource for Parliament Used properly they enable the House and individual Members to expand their capacity Important to optimise staff capability by leadership and training

Risks Do you know what risks you face in delivering your services? – Failing to meet Members’ demands and expectations – Disruption due to infrastructure, buildings or IT failure – Failure of suppliers (eg printers) – Failure to recruit or develop staff

Objectives Demonstrable value for money; spending matches priorities; environmentally sustainable Projects on time and on budget; improvements achieved in priority areas; core services delivered to high standard