Office Of The Parliamentary Counsel
On 18 and 19 July, members of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) helped to deliver a series of workshops at Civil Service Live on the legislative process. Civil Service Live is the governmentsannual,cross-department learning event, attracting thousands of civil servants to venues around the country to learn, network and share best practice - to help us all provide better public service.
The workshop began with an introduction from Susannah McGibbon Treasury Solicitor and Permanent Secretary of the Government Legal Department who spoke about the importance of clear, effective and accessible legislation to the rule of law and the unique position that civil servants enjoy in being able to work on the development of legislation.
Participants then split into four groups to play Legislate?! a board game developed by OPC to teach civil servants and others about the legislative process. The game was created in 2018 and has since evolved to match developments in the legislative process. Players move along the board trying to turn their policy idea into a Bill and then a fully implemented Act of Parliament. There are various challenges that players face along the way in the form of chance cards based on real life experiences.
Each of the games was led by a member of OPC or the wider Government Legal Profession who then participated in a Q&A session with the audience. Questions ranged from the panellists top tips on working with government lawyers, their favourite (or least favourite) Bills to work on and the way legal risk is assessed.
We hope those who came along learnt a little about the legislative process and felt encouraged to seek out opportunities to work on a Bill in the future.
