MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falklands' newly elected Legislative Assembly members receive parliamentary training

The three day program is geared to strengthen the knowledge, skills and confidence of the Members and officials of the Legislative Assembly, drawing on UK Parliament expertise (Pic T.Barkman)

A delegation from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, CPA, is currently visiting the Falkland Islands to provide Parliamentary training to the newly elected Legislative Assembly as part of a joint program agreed ahead of the election.

 The delegation is made up of, Rachael Atkins - CPA UK - America’s, Caribbean, Europe & UK Overseas Territories Program Manager; James Dent - Member States of Alderney; Jamie Greene MSP - Scottish Parliament; Deputy Dawn Tindall - States of Guernsey and Judith Boyce - Clerk, UK Parliament.

The three day in-territory program is geared to strengthen the knowledge, skills and confidence of the Members and officials of the Legislative Assembly, drawing on the expertise of the Devolved Legislatures and Crown Dependencies, as well as the UK Parliament.

According to the official program which includes debate exercises, are to equip parliamentarians with an increased understanding of the parliamentary practices and procedures of the Westminster model, including the management of parliament, parliamentary administration and separation of powers; Build the oversight and scrutiny capacity of parliamentarians to hold the Executive to account, through exchanges with parliamentary colleagues on the practicalities of the committee system; Build the confidence and understanding and capacity of new parliamentarians to represent their constituents, including understanding of their roles regarding ethics and standards, cooperating with the media and undertaking public outreach; Through exchanges with their parliamentary counterparts, strengthen the knowledge of current priorities and challenges in the Falkland Islands and further build relationships between UK and Falkland Island parliamentarians.

Finally the outcomes and knowledge gained from the program will be assessed using CPA UK’s monitoring and evaluation framework.

Participants will be approached after a period of time to share details of areas in which the program had supported or attributed to tangible outcomes, and to identify areas where further engagement is required.

CPA UK is one of the largest and most active branches in the CPA community and delivers a unique annual international outreach program in Westminster and overseas. CPA UK works to encourage parliamentary diplomacy and build parliamentary capacity on behalf of the UK Parliament and the wider CPA. Through activities such as conferences, seminars, delegations and parliamentary strengthening teams, CPA UK provides Members with a practical, current and first-hand perspective on international issues facing fellow parliamentarians across the Commonwealth.