Future Parliament: Hacking the Legislative Process // Capacity, Scrutiny, Engagement

Events

Future Parliament: Hacking the Legislative Process // Capacity, Scrutiny, Engagement

14 Nov 2016

From finance to healthcare, technology has transformed the way we live, work and play, with innovative solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. Can it also have a role in how we make our laws?

Watch in full

Panel one

Panel two

Speakers

Emma AllenDirector of Digital Development, Parliamentary Digital Service and former Head of Web Development, The National Archives.

Victoria BoelmanPrincipal Researcher in Government Innovation, Nesta and former Head of Research,The Young Foundation.

Stella Creasy MPLabour & Co-op MP for Walthamstow, Member of the Science and Technology Select Committee.

Dr Ruth FoxDirector and Head of Research, Hansard Society.

Elizabeth LinderFounder and CEO of The Conversational Century and former Government and Politics Specialist, Facebook.

Liam Laurence SmythClerk of Legislation, House of Commons and former Acting Director, Chamber Business, House of Commons.

Rebecca RumbulHead of Research, mySociety, and awarded best paper at the 2016 Conference for eDemocracy and Open Government.

Bill ThompsonPartnership Lead, Make it Digital, BBC and freelance journalist, commentator and technology critic.

Paul WallandInnovation Director at IT Innovation Centre, University of Southampton.

About the event

The proposed refurbishment of the Palace of Westminster after 2020 presents a rare one in 150 year opportunity for reform of the principal institution of our democracy.

With MPs and Peers due to move out of the Palace into alternative locations in the Westminster area for a few years, could these temporary new Houses be turned into parliamentary laboratories to trial and test new digital technology to support the legislative and scrutiny process?

Recent innovations, for example in relation to data science and social media analysis, potentially offer new opportunities for Parliament to engage with the public, collect and analyse greater amounts of data and reach out to stakeholders beyond the ‘usual suspects’.

But such developments also pose new challenges, not least in relation to privacy and security, training, infrastructure and accessibility. This event will explore the problems in the legislative process – e.g. time, speed, resources, access to expert knowledge, scrutiny capacity – and how new technological developments might help solve them.

Bringing together experts from Parliament and the technology sectors we will explore how Westminster could utilise the rupture of being uprooted from the Palace to drive innovation in the legislative process.

Schedule

2.00pm: Open
2.30pm: Session 1 - Capacity, Scrutiny and Engagement: Challenges and Opportunities
4.00pm: Break
4.30pm: Session 2 - Parliament as an Innovation Lab: Restoration and Renewal... and Beyond
6.00pm: Drinks reception

This event forms part of the Hansard Society's work on Sense4Us, a multi-national technology research project funded by the European Union.

Latest / Highlights

News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 30 June - 4 July 2025

MPs will vote on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill. Motions objecting to ratification of the UK–Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago will be debated by Peers. MPs will debate the proscription of Palestine Action. Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces MPs’ oral questions and the Defence Secretary John Healey MP faces select committee scrutiny. MPs will formally approve the continued existence of the armed forces for the next 12 months, as required annually. Consideration of the Bill to create an Armed Forces Commissioner may also be completed this week. The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill returns to the Lords for Report Stage while Peers will also scrutinise the Renters’ Rights and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

News / What Westminster gets wrong about the NHS - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 98

We are joined this week by two guests who bring invaluable insight into the intersection of health policy and parliamentary life. Dr. Sarah Wollaston and Steve Brine – both former MPs, health policy experts, and co-hosts of the podcast Prevention is the New Cure – share their experiences of how the House of Commons handles health and social care. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

News / Assisted dying bill: Special series #14 - MPs back assisted dying bill in historic vote - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 97

This week, we reflect on a landmark moment in UK parliamentary history: the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has passed its Third Reading in the House of Commons, moving one step closer to legalising assisted dying in England and Wales. We are joined once again by former House of Commons Clerk Paul Evans to examine how this Private Member’s Bill navigated the political and procedural obstacles in its path and to explore what lies ahead in the House of Lords. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

Guides / How does Parliament approve Government spending? A procedural guide to the Estimates process

In order to incur expenditure the Government needs to obtain approval from Parliament for its departmental spending plans. The annual Estimates cycle is the means by which the House of Commons controls the Government’s plans for the spending of money raised through taxation.

Blog / What role does Parliament play in the Spending Review?

The UK Spending Review outlines how Government funds will be allocated over several years. Unlike the Budget, which raises revenue, the Review decides how it is spent. But how is it approved? What role does Parliament play if it doesn’t vote on the Review itself? This blog explores how the Spending Review works, how it differs from the Budget, and how Parliament holds the Government to account through the Estimates process.