Civil servants are involved in the effective administration of government and that is why in 1998, the Cabinet Office sought to further the understanding between civil servants and Members of Parliament. The Cabinet Office asked the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT) to undertake this because of its neutrality and long experience of attaching MPs with companies.
With the Cabinet Office and cross-party support, the IPT has organised seminars in the Houses of Parliament and has been successful in ‘matching’ MPs with over 400 civil servants from a wide range of departments. It is a hugely popular development opportunity providing a unique experience to learn about Parliament and about the life of an MP. In 2002 the opportunity was extended to the European Parliament and since then, over 100 civil servants have been succesfully 'matched' with MEPs.
| "Although I have studied the EU and been on a number of related courses, seeing an MEP at work still taught me a lot of new things. I now have a better insight into the importance of their work, and an appreciation of how important it is to consider politics and compromises when trying to influence them." - Paul Brione, 2007 MEP Attachment Scheme |
How it works
For the Civil Service, details about the Scheme should be advertised internally by each department or agency. Each department or agency should then apply their own selection procedure and forward successful applications to the IPT; applications will be accepted on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Management of the seminars and the ‘matching’ of the civil servant with an MP will be undertaken by the IPT. The majority of participating MPs are IPT Fellows – they have completed an attachment of their own with an IPT supporting company, and they are familiar with IPT’s politically neutral ethos.
The IPT recommend that the nominated civil servant shadow the MP for a day in the House of Commons and a couple of days (normally including a Friday) in the MP’s constituency but this may vary depending on his/her commitments. The civil servant will also attend a full day seminar on the processes of Parliament. Seminars on the European Parliament and an attachment with an MEP are also offered.
The IPT also offers an educational day in Parliament to learn about topics such as Select Committees, PQ's and the Table Office, what a Whip does and role of a backbench MP. This is open to all civil servants .
Funding
The Department or Agency of each participating civil servant pays a fee for the programme and covers all the civil servant’s costs, including travel and subsistence.
What the civil servants say:
- I can honestly say that I learnt more about the mechanics of Parliament and the delivery of democracy yesterday, than in my previous 22 years working for the DCA. The experience was invaluable, I was able to network with some fantastic people and I even discovered the origins of the phrase "toe the line".
- I learnt the essential role an MP performs in terms of bringing different interest groups together in order to confront common issues.
- An excellent opportunity to get a first-hand view of the daily life of an MP and experience the extraodinary number of challenges that MPs face in going about their daily business.
- The experience has given me a better appreciation of the importance of local, particularly constituency, information to MPs.
- It was a useful learning experience and helped me to identify immediately issues and pressures that face parliamentarians and their motivations for being there.
- I have a greater understanding of the workings of our democracy, my knowledge is no longer theoretical.
Details of available Civil Service programmes
