Member News
By David TC Davies - 4th November 2011
David Davies MP looks at this year's Parliament Week, established with the aim of raising public awareness of Parliament.
There is much said about the "democratic deficit" in politics today—the lack of public engagement with Parliament, especially among young people. As I write, we are now most of the way through the first UK Parliament Week, established with the aim of addressing this issue: of raising public awareness of Parliament, and encouraging people to engage with the UK's democratic system and its institutions, showing them the many ways in which they can do that.
A range of events and activities has been taking place throughout the week and across the countries of the United Kingdom, including a special edition of the BBC's Question Time from Westminster Hall and the sitting of the Youth Parliament in the House of Commons. Parliamentarians like me have been leading some of the outreach events exploring the work of Parliament and Select Committees.
It was with pleasure that this week, I and other members of the Welsh affairs committee, which I chair, played our part in taking Parliament to Cardiff for the day. The purpose of the Welsh affairs committee, like other departmental select committees, is to scrutinise the work of government. However, to my mind, we also have a further purpose—to engage with and be a point of contact between the electorate and Parliament. I believe that select committees themselves are one of the great, unsung success stories of Parliament. I wish more people could see a select committee at work, and see the consultative, consensual approach that they bring to scrutinising the issues of importance to ordinary people: very far perhaps from the popular perception and depiction of Parliament.
The theme for this year's Parliament Week – intended as the first of an annual series of events - was 'Stories of Democracy’, the idea being to seek out the stories of those who have participated in or contributed to democracy in the UK, both past and present. It is perhaps appropriate then that at the event I lead this week, in Cardiff at the National Museum, we not only took the opportunity to shed some light on "a day in the life of an MP" but also to launch a Committee inquiry into the support for veterans of the armed forces in Wales. The event was well attended by a mix of people from schools and universities, but also from armed forces groups.
This inquiry is very important. Welsh military personnel have made an enormous contribution to the defence of the United Kingdom and are doing so today in ongoing conflicts around the world. It is incumbent upon us to ensure that veterans and their families are given the best possible support when they leave the military and return to civilian life. The Welsh Affairs Committee will look at the provision of support services to armed forces veterans and their families in Wales by the MoD, including resettlement provision; medical and mental health services for veterans in Wales including cross-border implications; co-ordination between the MoD, the Wales Office and the Welsh Government in the provision of services for veterans and the impact on Welsh veterans of any legally-enshrined military covenant and obligations. This kind of work, cutting across a wide range of interests and perspectives, is what select committees can uniquely do and do best.
The inquiry will touch many people—at the last count, in 2005, there were about a quarter of a million veterans living in Wales, many more in the wider adult ex-service community. With around 20,000 people leaving the armed forces every year in the UK, today's figures will no doubt be higher - but it also illustrates something important about the Welsh Affairs Committee: not only does our remit allow us to scrutinise the mechanics of devolution and legislation, it also allows us to champion the interests of people in Wales and helps to ensure their voice is heard loud and clear in Westminster.
David Davieshas been Conservative MP for Monmouth, Wales since 2005
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