Visit of the Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons, and a Parliamentary Delegation, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
From February 20 to 22, 2012, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Honourable Andrew Scheer, M.P., led a parliamentary delegation on an visit to the United Kingdom. The delegation was composed of Ms. Denise Savoie, M.P, Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and Chair of Committees of the Whole; Mr. Barry Devolin, M.P., Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole; Mr. Bruce Stanton, M.P., Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole; and Ms. Audrey O’Brien, Clerk of the House of Commons. Accompanying the delegation were Ms. Kenzie Potter, Chief of Staff to the Speaker, and Ms. Jolène Savoie, Secretary to the delegation.
In London, the delegation met with:
- The Right Honourable John Bercow, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons;
- Sir Alan Haselhurst, Chair of the UK Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and Chair of the CPA International Executive Committee;
- Mr. Ian Davidson M.P., Chair of the Scottish Affairs’ Committee, House of Commons;
- Mr. Robert Rogers, Clerk of the House and Chief Executive of the House of Commons;
- Ms. Jacqy Sharpe, Clerk of Legislation;
- Mr. Andrew Kennon, Clerk of Committees;
- Mr. Paul Evans, Principal Clerk, Table Office;
- Mr. David Natzler, Clerk Assistant and Director General, Department of Chamber and Committee;
- Mr. Crispin Poyser, Clerk of the Overseas Office;
- Mr. John Pullinger, Librarian and Director General, Department of Information Services;
- Mr. Dorian Gerhold, Secretary to the House of Commons’ Commission and Clerk of the Finance and Services Committee; and
- Ms. Caroline Shenton, Clerk of the Records.
While in London, the delegation also participated in an open forum discussion on Canada, organized by the UK Branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and attended by UK Members of Parliament and visiting Malaysian parliamentarians. The delegation also visited the Parliamentary Archives.
The purpose of the visit was to learn about recent procedural and administrative developments at the British House of Commons and providing an opportunity for the delegates to exchange views with their counterparts on their roles in the Chamber. Specific topics that were discussed included: timetabling of legislation; recent developments in the Committee Office; the Backbench Business Committee; Scottish Independence and the 1995 Quebec Referendum; services to Members and to the public provided by the Department of Information Services; management of the Chamber; as well as budgets and administration.