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Guide to All Party Groups
Added: 3 September 2007
Index
1. Introduction
2. Registering a Group
3. Notifying changes
4. The Approved List
5. Administration of Groups
6. Meetings
7. Other useful links
There are two types of All Party Groups; Associate Party Groups and All Party Parliamentary Groups. All Party Groups are relatively informal compared with other cross-party bodies such as select committees of the House, although some people mistakenly refer to All Party Groups as committees. The membership of All Party Groups mainly comprises backbench Members of the House of Commons and Lords but may also include ministers and non-parliamentarians.
Many people wrongly think that the difference between the two is that Associate Groups can have external members. This is not the case. Both types of Group can have external members, but only with Associate Groups do the external members have voting rights.
There are hundreds of All Party Groups listed on the register which is updated roughly every 6 weeks when the Commons in sitting: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmallparty/register/memi01.htm
Groups are classified either as subject groups (relating to a particular topic) or country groups (relating to a particular country or region). Most country groups are affiliated to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association's United Kingdom Branch and/or the Inter-Parliamentary Union's British Group.
The administration of the Register is maintained by the Assistant Registrar in the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, whose address is: House of Commons, London SW1A OAA (tel: 020 7219 0401). To be included on the Register or on the Approved List (see below) a group must first complete the 'Application Form for Cross-Party Groups'. Once registered, the group is sent the 'Guide to the Rules on All-Party Groups', which sets out the rules on the day-to-day conduct of registered groups. Both documents are available from the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Office. If you have been asked to administer a Group, it is worth reading the Rules to ensure you know what Groups can and cannot do. If you know the Rules, you will be in a better position to advise the officers and members of the Group.
Once registered, groups are required to notify the Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards of any change required to their Register entry within 28 days of such a change arising. Each group's Register entry shows its title, officers, financial and material assistance received from outside Parliament, and relevant occupations of its staff. However, if a group is on the Approved List it has to provide additional information on its register entry, namely details of the Group's purpose; its 20 qualifying members; any affiliation it has to the Inter-Parliamentary Union or Commonwealth Parliamentary Association; its voting rights; and the date of its last Annual General Meeting.
Whereas inclusion on the Register is compulsory for most groups, a Group may choose whether or not to apply for inclusion on the Approved List. Most Groups are on both. This is because it is only by being on the Approved List that a group gains certain entitlements (eg. use of the All-Party Notices to advertise meetings; use of the terms 'All-Party', 'Associate' and 'Parliamentary' in the group's title; and priority over unlisted groups when booking meeting rooms in the Palace of Westminster).
All Party Groups are administered either by external organisations who may provide funding for receptions or staff to run the group, or by researchers, or sometimes by Members of the House of Lords. The amount of work a Group generates depends entirely on how active it is. A relatively active Group typically holds one reception and four meetings per year. If you have been asked to coordinate a Group, you should establish how frequently the officers of the Group would like to convene meetings and if, for example, they wish to establish a monthly newsletter.
Whenever you organise a meeting for an All Party Group, make sure you notify the Whips office (hughesm@parliament.uk) so that it can be included on the All-Party Notices. Most Members of the House of Commons and Lords read the All-Party Notices so it is a good way of promoting the meeting. The All-Party Notices are sent out on Thursdays with the weekly business and the deadline for submitting a notice is usually the previous Wednesday by midnight but do check in case this changes.
- Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards webpage
- Approved List of All-Party Parliamentary Groups and Associate Parliamentary Groups
- Guide to the Rules on All-Party Groups
- Forms for All-Party Groups
ED August 2007
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