Photo: Parliament.uk. House of Commons MPs approve to hold virtual sessions
Photo: Independent. Malta’s Parliamentary Committee meetings to continue virtually
In the midst of COVID-19 crisis, many parliaments have started to conduct virtual parliamentary sessions, and the number of parliaments deciding to take sessions online are continuously increasing for the situations haven’t eased yet.
Recently, British Parliament also started to hold parliament sessions virtually, but in their case “hybrid parliamentary sessions.” On April 21, British MPs have approved a motion to allow the participation in questions (including Prime Minister’s Questions), urgent questions, and ministerial statements via video link. The motion allows Members to participate either virtually or in the Chamber. A maximum of 50 MPs that comply with social distancing guidelines will be able to physically participate and a maximum of 120 MPs will be able to remotely participate over the course of any “hybrid proceeding,” which constitutes the first two hours of each sitting.
On April 22, a day after the passing of the motion, the House of Commons launched their first virtual session during a weekly session of PMQs. In the place of the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is recovering from COVID-19, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Dominic Raab took the questions. Although there were some glitches; internet connection issues, audio quality issues, etc., the session proceeded quite successfully.
In case of Malta, parliamentary committee meetings that require witnesses and experts, which had been suspended for a month as a result of the pandemic, are to resume virtually after an agreement between the government and opposition in the House Business Committee on April 13. Now, while MPs who comply with social distancing guidelines have to be present in the chamber, witnesses and experts will be able to participate in committees again through video conferencing system. MPs who cannot be present due to health circumstances will also be allowed to participate virtually.
[Sources]
CNA. (2020, April 22). Britain's Zoom parliament makes an almost glitch-free debut. Retrieved from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/britain-s-zoom-parliament-makes-an-almost-glitch-free-debut-12666962
Hermesauto. (2020, April 22). Coronavirus: Britain's Zoom parliament makes an almost glitch-free debut. Retrieved from https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/coronavirus-boris-johnsons-government-faces-first-political-test-of-lockdown
Independent. (2020, April 21). Parliamentary Committee meetings to continue virtually. Retrieved from https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2020-04-21/local-news/Parliamentary-Committee-meetings-to-continue-virtually-6736222303
Micallef, K. (2020, April 21). COVID-19: Parliamentary committee meetings to use video conferencing. Retrieved from https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/covid-19-parliamentary-committee-meetings-to-use-video-conferencing.786830
UK Parliament. (2020, April 21). MPs approve historic motion to allow remote participation in key Commons proceedings - News from Parliament. Retrieved from https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2020/april1/-mps-approve-historic-motion-to-allow-remote-participation-in-key-commons-proceedings/
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
