A free workshop is being staged in Birmingham to help groups interested in the issues relating to localism and decentralisation and learn more about getting involved in Parliament’s scrutiny of legislation. The Public Bill workshop has been organised by the House of Commons Parliamentary Outreach team.

The event, scheduled for Friday October 29th, is part of efforts to encourage more groups to engage with legislative scrutiny and to tell them how to get their voices heard during the consideration of legislation. It will focus on practical applications and will be strictly non-party political. It will include information on submitting evidence to a Public Bill Committee in the Commons, engaging with members of the House of Lords as they consider a Bill, getting access to independent House of Commons Library research, how to track the progress of a Bill online and understanding secondary legislation. Experts from the Houses of Parliament will be on hand to answer questions.

The Head of Parliamentary Outreach, Clare Cowan said the workshops were designed to enable individuals and organisations to understand more about the legislative process. “The latest workshop on localism and decentralisation is aimed at those groups and organisations with a particular interest in these areas but it is just one of a series of workshops we offer, covering a wide range of subjects being considered by Parliament, all of which have the potential to affect our lives,” she said.