Minister of State for international Development questioned on parliamentary Strengthening

• Parliament TV: Parliamentary Strengthening
• Inquiry: Parliamentary Strengthening
• International Development Committee

Witnesses

Tuesday 25 November, Committee Room 18, Palace of Westminster

At 9.45am:

• Anthony Smith, Chief Exectuive  Officer, Westminster Foundation for Democracy
• Dina Melhem, Head of Middle East North Africa Region, WFD

At 10.30am:

• Rt Hon Desmond Swayne MP, Minister of State, Department for International Development
• Jonathan Hargreaves, Head of Governance, Open Societies and Anti-Corruption Department, DFID
• Shiona Ruhemann, Senior Adviser, Open Societies and Anti-Corruption Department, DFID
• Rob Fenn, Head of Human Rights and Democracy Department, FCO

Purpose of the Session

For this second session, Panel 1 is a discussion with the new leadership of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, which is jointly funded by Department for International Development and Foreign and Commonwealth Office, on better coordination of government approaches to parliamentary strengthening and how the Westminster Foundation for Democracy is responding to the criticisms of it in its recent Triennial Review. The second panel will discuss with the Minister of State and DFID governance officials its approaches to parliamentary strengthening, and it particular: its commissioning of programmes, approach to politics, strategy, skills and learning, and transparency to parliaments. The session builds on the evidence from the inquiry’s first session which discussed issues of coordination and commissioning of parliamentary strengthening with Westminster and international parliamentary practitioners.

Further information

• About Parliament: Select Committees 
• Visiting Parliament: Watch Committees