Briefing for Lords' debate on Parliament's communication with the public
Professor the Lord Norton of Louth has secured a debate in the House of Lords "to call attention to the case for enhancing Parliament's ability to communicate with members of the public."
The Hansard Society has done a considerable amount of work in the area of Parliament’s
engagement with the public, both in the form of research reports and in
practical engagement projects such as Lords of the Blog. In 2005 the Hansard Society Commission on the Communication of Parliamentary Democracy (the Puttnam Commission) examined whether Parliament was failing in its democratic duty to
communicate with the electorate. It made 39 recommendations, which
together set out a practical route for much needed change, and in 2006 a follow-up report examined the progress made. The annual Audit of Political Engagement tracks the public's interest, engagement and satisfaction with politics, and the recent Parliament and the Public report examined the public's knowledge of and attitudes towards Parliament.
To contribute to the Lords' debate we have produced a briefing paper entitled Enhancing Parliament’s Ability to Communicate with Members of the Public summarising our research and recommendations, and assessing where progress still needs to be made.
Update: The debate has since taken place, and can be read in full here. The work of the Hansard Society received numerous favourable mentions.
Update 2: The House of Lords Information Committee has now launched an inquiry on People and Parliament, in response to the debate.