Working with Parliament
Explore learning designed to give you the skills you need to work with Parliament.
Parliament has a daily impact on the work of every civil servant, department and profession and understanding Parliament is essential for all civil servants in order to support ministers and ensure our work is effectively communicated to MPs and peers.
Parliamentary training is free and available to all civil servants and this page has been designed to guide you through the entire parliamentary learning offer so you can find the right learning for you.
Introduction to Parliament
Our Introduction to Parliament course explains Parliament’s role in holding the government to account. It highlights why this affects civil servants and maps out the various ways they may need to interact with parliamentary scrutiny.
Responding to parliamentary scrutiny can be challenging, especially if you have never done it before. We have created a series of desk aids covering:
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how Parliament holds your department to account
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what is involved with responding to different types of Parliamentary scrutiny
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tips for working with Parliament effectively.
You can find courses covering the content of these desk aids in more detail below. All our courses are delivered by parliamentary experts and offer the opportunity to ask detailed questions whilst exploring the practical impact of parliamentary scrutiny on the work of civil servants.
‘Parliamentary Insights’ is the Government Campus’s Parliamentary Capability Team podcast, produced to help Civil Service colleagues familiarise themselves with lesser-understood parliamentary processes.
‘Parliamentary Insights’ hosts experts from across the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Civil Service, who offer valuable insights, procedural advice, top tips and answer your questions across the series topics of: debates, ministerial statements, pre and post legislative scrutiny, the budget, and scrutiny of financial legislation.
Parliamentary scrutiny
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Ministerial correspondence - This course explains how Parliament can hold the government to account through correspondence. It highlights why this affects civil servants, and details the processes followed by departments when drafting responses.
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Written parliamentary questions - This course explains Parliament’s role in holding the government to account through written questions. It highlights why this affects civil servants, and details the processes departments follow when drafting responses.
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Oral and urgent parliamentary questions - This course explains how Parliament holds the government to account through oral and urgent parliamentary questions and how civil servants prepare their minister.
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Select committees - This course explains how Parliament uses select committees to hold the government to account. You will learn about the structure of parliamentary select committees, their role and how civil servants may need to help their department respond to scrutiny.
Legislation
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Primary legislation - This course offers civil servants an introduction to primary legislation. You will learn what primary legislation is, how departments prepare bills, how Parliament scrutinises bills, and the role civil servants play in supporting all of the above.
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Secondary legislation - This course will explain what secondary legislation is, how it is prepared in government departments, how it is scrutinised by Parliament and the role of civil servants in supporting this.
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Effective explanatory memoranda - You will learn what explanatory memoranda (EM) are, how they are prepared in government and how they are scrutinised in Parliament alongside secondary legislation. You will be given practical examples of what makes a good EM.
In addition, we run Bill Team Basics for those working in bill teams across government. Delivered every six months, this week-long course is designed to give new bill teams a road map for delivering primary legislation. Each session will focus on a different aspect of bill management, explore what is involved and offer practical advice for bill teams. You will hear from a range of speakers with direct roles in the legislative process. Bill Team Basics includes the bill team toolkit, five documents designed to give an overview of some of the work involved, practical information about doing it and advice from experienced bill managers.
Understanding devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Understanding devolution, how it impacts your work and how the UK Government works with the governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland work together is critical for all civil servants and will help you deliver more effectively for citizens across the UK. Our devolution and intergovernmental working page will provide you with a good introduction to devolution and intergovernmental working and why it is important. There are also fortnightly webinars delivered by the central devolution capability team and you can find out more about the training or intergovernmental placements by emailing them. These resources are focussed on increasing understanding of devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. You may also be interested to learn about devolution in England.
Keep in touch
Civil servants can sign up to get regular updates about opportunities to learn more about Parliament via Government Campus’ Parliamentary Despatch newsletter. This monthly newsletter provides information on forthcoming course, new guidance and information, articles explaining procedures and specific parliamentary activities, and a summary of recent ness in both Houses of Parliament.