GOV0030

Written evidence submitted by Dr Emma Crewe, University of London

Summary of recommendations

1. When Members express appreciation of officials, and offer constructive and well-informed criticism, they get better results.

2. One post with clear responsibility for running the House of Commons is the only way to achieve coherence, clarity and efficiency.

3. Rather than deciding on behalf of the future overall manager what other posts/areas of expertise are required to ensure efficient management, this decision should be left to the manager of the House of Commons once appointed.

4. Opportunities to develop skills and experience in the political, procedural and managerial aspects should be open to all House of Commons staff.

5. The determination to ensure that the House of Commons staff is more diverse is to be commended and encouraged. 

Background of the author

6. These observations and recommendations are based on two years of research into the work of MPs (2011-2013), which involved literature reviews, case studies and interviews with MPs, MPs’ staff and officials in parliament and in constituencies. This follows an earlier study of the House of Lords (1998-2000). I specialise in the study of organisations and also teach on the doctorate of management programme, University of Hertfordshire Business School. The purpose of this submission is to share some of my research findings.

Management of the House – experience and recognition

7. The competence and skill of the existing officials and staff within the House of Commons are generally extremely high. The House benefits greatly from not only their skill, but also a commitment to the institution of parliament – and to parliamentarians – that is sometimes undervalued by some Members. The errors committed by officials in the core business of parliament are rare and minor, an achievement that is easily taken for granted.

8. Part of the job of parliamentary officials is to make MPs look skilled and efficient, rather than themselves. The depth of their political knowledge and capacity for innovation are the most seriously under-estimated areas. Because of their efforts to be impartial, respectful of parliament, apolitical and discreet, I have observed that some MPs have failed to appreciate the deftness of officials.

9. As in any leadership position, when Members express appreciation of officials, and offer constructive criticism, they get better results. When MPs complain about officials publicly or fail to take responsibility for their own mistakes, it is likely to cause problems. Recent events appear to have created low morale within the service. Members might consider how they could improve morale among officials.

Clerk and CEO roles

10. Leading the House of Commons is extremely complex, requiring an in-depth knowledge and experience of the political, procedural as well as managerial aspects. Top clerks have proved to be skilled at managing the Commons and the Lords since I have been researching parliament (the last 17 years).

11. The priority for this post should be knowledge of the ‘core’, that is, parliamentary business (legislation, committee work, library research, scrutiny, privilege, standards, constituency work, liaising with government, media etc). It is this parliamentary core that is the most complex aspect of the job, not the kind of generic management expertise that is acquired through very different organisations or taught courses. Amanda Goodall’s research shows that superior leadership requires not merely management skills but expert knowledge about the organisation’s core business (see CASS Business School or http://www.amandagoodall.com).

12. Leadership skills are learned through the practice of management, preferably in a similar type of institution. The House of Commons offers the necessary experience in management through a mixture of internal roles and secondments to other public or semi-public organisations.

13. One post with clear responsibility for running the House of Commons is the only way to achieve coherence, clarity and efficiency. The title is unimportant but extensive knowledge of parliamentary business should be essential in the Job Specification. Splitting the top job into two posts – CEO and Clerk – is a recipe for disaster for two reasons:

1. the management of the Commons can not be easily divided into administration vs political/procedural, these areas are intimately bound up with each other,
2. two bosses will create conflict, factionalism and delays in decision-making.

14. Rather than deciding on behalf of the overall manager what other posts/areas of expertise are required to ensure efficient management, this decision should be left to the overall manager of the House of Commons once appointed. The top position should be decided on merit above all. Once that person is in place permanently, it then makes sense for her/him to assess what expertise is needed at what levels. Just as MPs are keen to encourage delegation from the CEO downwards, the Commission should put their trust in their overall manager.

15. Opportunities to develop skills and experience in the political, procedural and managerial aspects should be open to all House of Commons staff. There remains a perception that clerks have an advantage over other staff in reaching the highest levels of management. Since they are experts in nearly all aspects of the core business that is hardly surprising. However, any staff should be encouraged to develop expertise in the core of the House of Commons business if they demonstrate the capacity.

16. The determination to ensure that the House of Commons staff is more diverse (e.g., in terms of gender, disability, ethnicity and class etc) is to be commended and encouraged. It will take time for this to be reflected at the highest levels and any attempts to shortcut the process would be counter-productive. But investment in equal opportunities recruitment and continuing professional development (especially for women and black/Asian staff) would be money well spent.

November 2014