What interests Parliament?

Parliament's interests

Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff are generally interested in research that is relevant to current issues on the parliamentary agenda. In addition, MPs are interested in research related to issues that affect their constituents.  

Parliament may also be interested in research conclusions that do not map directly onto parliamentary business or the Government's current agenda, if the researcher feels the findings reveal a need for policy change or action.

Parliament wants to engage with researchers who have expertise in their field, and welcomes contributions from people from different career stages, disciplines, institutions and backgrounds.

There are a number of ways to find out what Parliament is currently interested in:

• Consult the current work of:
  • Select committees
  • Public Bill committees
  • POST (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology)
  • House of Commons Library
  • House of Lords Library
  • All Party Parliamentary Groups.
• Consult the calendar of scheduled business in Parliament.
• Consult Hansard: a searchable, verbatim report of what is said in Parliament (for example: debates, speeches, questions and answers).
• Consult Early Day Motions. These are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons, which allow MPs to draw attention to an event or cause and which other MPs support by signing.
• Consult Petitions.
• Consult Prime Minister's Questions.
• Consult the Queen's Speech, which she delivers at the State Opening of Parliament. This speech details the Government's agenda for the coming session, including proposed policies and legislation.
• Find out more about MPs' interests and Peers' interests by looking at their individual webpages.

Learn more about how different people in Parliament use research.