Opening up the Parliamentary Budget Process

Overview The pros and cons of open committees The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s recommendations for media access to parliament Public hearings on the budget

Who is Opening Committees Many legislatures open proceedings and committee meetings to the media and general public. Half of 40 legislatures recently surveyed by the OECD report that committee proceedings related to the draft budget are open to the public. More than half of 70 public accounts committees surveyed by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association reported open access.

The pros of open committees Transparency = trust in government Open proceedings = media report on parliamentary debates & legislative process Open proceedings = Parliamentary channel for views Open budget discussion = legislatures deepened public debate Informed general public on budget constraints, consensus around difficult tradeoffs.

… and the cons Possible shift in decision making from committees to other closed forums; Gain in transparency might be illusionary; Open doors might politicize committee debates and undermine effectiveness (Messick 2002): “Industrial countries show that partisanship and committee effectiveness are inversely related: the less partisan the committee, the more effective it is likely to be. Partisanship is greater when committee meetings are open to the public. While there are risks to conducting public business in private, there are tradeoffs between the benefits of open meetings and the need for more effective legislative committees.”

What is the answer? Sensitive reformers; Open legislatures stay open; Bar the public in exceptional circumstances, eg defense; Always a few good reasons for preventing access; More legislatures opening up; Study group of the CPA on ‘Parliament and the Media’ came out in favor of opening committee proceedings.

The CPA’s recommendations 1 Parliaments provide necessary access & services to the media; It should not use lack of resources as an excuse to limit media access; It should provide the best facilities possible; Questions of eligibility for media access determined by the media itself. Parliaments should use PR officers to publicize activities To the media which do not cover Parliament To education staff to stimulate interest in parliamentary democracy Parliaments should provide the media with as much information as possible. Attendance and voting records Registers of Members’ interests

The CPA’s recommendations 2 Professional & ethical standards for journalists is a matter for media. media’s responsibility to ensure private interests not influence reporting. Parliaments should publish as much material as possible online. Electronic coverage guidelines should be put in place in consultation with broadcasters, without discriminatory or censorship. Parliaments should provide live coverage of proceedings on a dedicated channel and/or online.

Public hearings on the budget Parliamentary committees can invite outside experts to give evidence on the budget. A survey of 40 countries by the OECD found budget committees draw on a mix of expertise. A CPA survey found that hearings in public accounts committees focus on auditor general and departmental officials. About one third of audit committees summons civil society or interest groups to appear as witnesses.

Concluding remarks 1. Increasingly, parliaments open proceedings to media & public. 2. This increases transparency of parliamentary process. 3. Media provides platform to publicize budget committee work & deepens public debate on budget. 4. Public hearings complement budgetary information of executive and subject it to independent interrogation. 5. The process of moving from a closed parliament to one that is open to the media and the public will involve a learning experience for all participants. 6. To manage access and participation effectively, parliaments need to devise and publicize clear guidelines and procedures.