House of Commons Administration Interparliamentary engagement strategy
The House of Commons Administration strongly values its international links with other parliaments. To support this work, the House of Commons Executive Board has agreed nine principles to guide this work, which serve as a framework linking the international and interparliamentary activities of House Teams and the House Administration Strategy and Values:
Our mission
To ensure the House of Commons administration is an active and valued participant in the
international, interparliamentary community.
Through this work we want to:
- exchange, share and build knowledge between parliaments on issues of mutual concern
- share and capitalise upon the value of parliament-to-parliament learning
- develop and sustain good working relationships across and between parliaments
- enhance the capability and knowledge of our staff to support Members through delivering excellent services
Principles for interparliamentary engagement
When considering which activities to support and prioritise, House Teams should refer to these principles as a guide:
- Focus on parliament: Aligning interparliamentary engagement with the House Administration’s Strategy and Values.
- Support parliamentary development: Working with other democracies and emerging democracies in support of UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 to develop the capacity of parliaments and representative institutions.
- Strive for meaningful impact: Pursuing work which delivers meaningful impact both for the House Administration and other parliaments internationally. Considering the likely benefit to both the UK Parliament and others when determining whether,
when and how to engage, including an approach which is mindful of value for money and sustainability. - Deliver complementary and additional support: Engaging meaningfully with interparliamentary networks, forums and organisations, both within the House and externally, that complement and enhance existing efforts.
- Deepen fruitful connections: Focusing on exchanges that will lead to successful, mutually beneficial outcomes, we will seek to deepen and embed collaboration with countries and parliaments which have proved themselves to be valuable partners to
create mutual lasting benefits. - Work collaboratively and in partnership: Working in partnership with other partners and parliaments to deliver outcomes of shared priority and importance
that enable lessons to be learned by all partners involved in activities. - Promote transparency, diversity, and inclusion: Opening up the opportunities to participate in interparliamentary activities to all House Administration staff to showcase the diversity of expertise and experiences across the House.
- Promote the UK Parliament: Focusing on activities that draw attention to the work of the UK Parliament with particular reference to accessibility and participation.
- Evaluate, learn, and apply lessons: Delivering continuous improvement by assessing our impacts, successes and failures and applying the lessons we have learnt during future engagement having regard for value for money. Sharing these lessons across the House Administration.
Much of our work is bicameral in nature, and accordingly our activities will reflect the work of both Houses. Our work will not seek to direct the work of Members, although Members may be involved in some of the activities that are guided by these principles and undertaken in pursuit of these goals.
Delivering this work
The House of Commons Interparliamentary Relations Office will assist with co-ordinating and sharing best practice and expertise in interparliamentary engagement from across the House Administration. The decision on whether, how and when to engage will remain in the domain of individual departments.
In setting priorities, the House Administration will ensure that it takes into account the work and objectives of the Speaker’s External Affairs strategy and of other key partners such as the Inter Parliamentary Groups.
The House Administration will ensure staff undertaking these activities receive the necessary training and support to undertake this work in a safe and effective manner.
