Mr. Lenox Proctor (2nd from left)
Mr. Lenox Proctor, Clerk of the Anguilla House of Assembly participated in the recently concluded UK Parliament Study Programme. The Programme provided participants with an opportunity to learn about UK approaches to both specific procedural and corporate issues related to running a parliament; host full and frank exchanges on issues common to all legislatures; provide a forum in which colleagues can establish strong professional links both within the UK Parliament and other participating legislatures; and learn about each other’s shared challenges. Participants in the Programme came from Anguilla, Western Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, The Netherlands, Seychelles and Kenya.
The Study Programme ran online, once monthly for five months from January to May and culminated with a five-day in-person visit to the UK Parliament at Westminster at the end of June.
The online sessions covered:
1. An overview of the UK Parliament and Governance structure.
2. Logistics around a day in the Chamber: bringing together different teams which facilitate Chamber Business.
3. Scrutiny in Parliament: looking at both select committee and legislative scrutiny.
4. Engagement and parliamentary outreach: focusing on Chamber and committee engagement; public outreach; education; media relations; and digital technology.
5. UK Parliamentary culture and Member services: concentrating on the work around culture transformation of the UK Parliament in both the House service and the support provided to Members.
The five-day in-person visit to Westminster then focused on seeing the UK Parliament at work and included, among other things, tours of the Palace of Westminster; meetings with Heads of Offices and UK officials. The final day of the visit Programme entailed a concluding seminar where participants provided a short presentation to the other Programme participants and UK officials on an aspect of their own legislature’s work, reflecting an element of common interest. Mr. Proctor presented on the Anguilla House of Assembly’s Parliamentary Reform Process and the specific approaches that are needed to justify the operation of a Parliament within accepted international benchmarks despite issues related to size and constitutional arrangements.
