Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training her Department has provided to (a) general civil servants, (b) fast stream civil servants and (c) senior civil servants on understanding the scrutiny and legislative roles of the UK Parliament; how many such courses have taken place; and how many civil servants have attended such training courses in each of the last five years.

All Civil Servants have access to the central learning offer provided through Civil Service Learning. There are one-day workshops on Understanding Parliament, which are delivered at Foundation (introduction) and Practitioner (advanced) levels. Both of these workshops cover Parliament’s scrutiny and legislative roles. Dedicated training sessions covering specific topics are also available. These include Introduction to Parliament, Select Committees, Debates and Voting, Pre and Post Legislative Scrutiny, Parliamentary Questions, Delegated Legislation, and Primary Legislation. A half-day workshop is available on producing effective explanatory memoranda to accompany secondary legislation. The Cabinet Office’s Parliamentary Business and Legislation Team provide training to Bill Teams. The Government Legal Department and Parliamentary Counsel run a course on Dealing with Parliamentary Bills for Lawyers, which covers parliamentary stages and handling. Stand-alone events are run, eg during Parliament Week. Bespoke sessions for government departments are available on request.

It is well established that people need just-in-time training and resources to help them while on the job, so Civil Service Learning provide on-line resources, such as weblinks, guides and videos. There is an e-learning course on Understanding Parliament, and access to two Massive Open On-Line Courses (on Understanding Parliament and Select Committees) which have been produced in partnership between the House of Commons and Future Learn, a digital education platform owned by the Open University.

Fast Stream Civil Servants receive a Parliament workshop during their induction, covering the role of Parliament in scrutinising government policy. For Policy Professionals, a Fast Stream Base Camp includes an optional workshop which focuses on the legislative process in both houses, typical timetables and roles of Ministers, Bill Teams and civil servants in delivering legislation.

For Senior Civil Servants, a tailored a one-day workshop, Leading in Parliament, is available, which covers Parliament’s role, powers and relationship with government, the day-to day work of MPs and Peers. A workshop delivered jointly between Civil Service Learning and HM Treasury is provided for Accounting Officers. Civil Service Learning provides a workshop specifically for Senior Responsible Officers with responsibility for secondary legislation. Every department has an SCS Parliamentary Champion. There is a buddy system in place between Parliamentary Champions and senior House staff.

In addition to the courses available on CSL, DWP holds regular training and awareness sessions on secondary legislation and better regulation including the scrutiny and legislative roles of the UK Parliament that are available to all civil servants involved in policy development, as well as internally delivered workshops and tailored training sessions to individuals and teams who are preparing to make legislation or those who wish to learn more about Parliamentary processes, these are offered to members of staff by the Department’s Parliamentary and Legislative Strategy teams. To support this bespoke training sessions with representatives from the Parliamentary committee secretariats including the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee and the Work and Pensions Select Committee are arranged as needed. Officials from the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee are also regularly invited to provide training on devolution matters or the processes for taking primary legislation through Parliament including the role of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee.

As the Department for Work and Pensions is a significant delivery Department, with the vast majority of staff in public facing roles, Parliamentary training is largely concentrated on colleagues in central roles. It is typically provided on a ‘train the trainer’ basis, with the aim that attendees then disseminate their learning among their colleagues. This training is provided on an ad hoc basis in response to requests from teams, individuals or their line managers. As such, the number of events and numbers attending are not recorded.