What happens next?
We see this report as the start of a conversation, not the end. Most of our recommendations are to the House of Commons Service and Members of Parliament and we hope that they will give rise to some interesting new initiatives or give support to initiatives that are already under way.
In this report we have made a number of recommendations. In addition to this we have identified five key targets that Parliament should work towards:
- By 2020, the House of Commons should ensure that everyone can understand what it does.
- By 2020, Parliament should be fully interactive and digital.
- The 2015 newly elected House of Commons should create immediately a new forum for public participation in the debating function of the House of Commons.
- By 2020, secure online voting should be an option for all voters.
- By 2016, all published information and broadcast footage produced by Parliament should be freely available online in formats suitable for re-use. Hansard should be available as open data by the end of 2015.
Sadly, with the publication of this report, our work as a commission is done for now. Our passion however will continue and we will meet in one year’s time to review the progress that has been made towards these key targets. We hope there will be much to be enthusiastic about and that Parliament will continue to be receptive to the digital democracy conversation. Many of our contacts are now connected with people within Parliament working in this area, which is a testament to how receptive so many staff and Members of Parliament have been to our work. Let the building of a digital and interactive Parliament begin!