Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (United Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) is responsible for drafting all government Bills that are introduced to Parliament
. Established in 1869, the OPC has been part of various departments and is currently part of the Cabinet Office
. Led by Stephen Laws
, the First Parliamentary Counsel and Permanent Secretary
, the OPC consists of 86 members of staff, 61 of whom are lawyers and 25 of whom are support staff. The lawyers who work in the office are referred to as Parliamentary Counsel
or Parliamentary draftsmen.
s, Members of Parliament themselves or members of the judiciary. William Pitt was the first person to appoint a dedicated parliamentary draftsman, known as the Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury, who in 1833 described his duties as "to draw or settle all the Bills that belong to Government in the Department of the Treasury", although he also produced bills for other departments. Despite this many bills continued to be drafted by other members of the bar, and one of these barristers (Henry Thring
) suggested that "the subjects of Acts of Parliament, as well as the provisions by which the law is enforced, would admit of being reduced to a certain degree of uniformity; that the proper mode of sifting the materials and of arranging the clauses can be explained; and that the form of expressing the enactments might also be the subject of regulation". In response to this the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury was established on 8 February 1869, with Thring as Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury, the head of the office.
The office is small for a government department - in 1901 it consisted of "the Parliamentary Counsel and the Assistant Parliamentary Counsel, with three shorthand writers, an office-keeper, and an office boy". Two more Parliamentary Counsel were appointed in 1914 and 1930 respectively, and by 1960 the office had 16 counsel, along with their support staff. It currently consists of 61 counsel, with a 25-person support team. The OPC was initially part of HM Treasury
, but when the Civil Service Department was created in 1969 the OPC became a part of it, changing its name from Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury to simply the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. After the Civil Service Department was dissolved in 1980, the OPC became part of the Cabinet Office
.
, and has also been known to draft Orders in Council that are "of exceptional importance or difficulty".
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. Established in 1869, the OPC has been part of various departments and is currently part of the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
. Led by Stephen Laws
Stephen Laws
Sir Stephen Charles Laws, KCB, QC, is a British lawyer and Civil Servant who has served since 2006 as the First Parliamentary Counsel.As head of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, Laws is responsible for the drafting of all the government legislation which is laid before Parliament...
, the First Parliamentary Counsel and Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
, the OPC consists of 86 members of staff, 61 of whom are lawyers and 25 of whom are support staff. The lawyers who work in the office are referred to as Parliamentary Counsel
Parliamentary Counsel
Parliamentary counsel are lawyers who prepare legislation that it is proposed to pass into law. The term Parliamentary draftsman is also widely used. These terms are used in relation to the United Kingdom parliament, and other parliaments on the Westminster system...
or Parliamentary draftsmen.
History
Bills were originally drafted by normal barristerBarrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
s, Members of Parliament themselves or members of the judiciary. William Pitt was the first person to appoint a dedicated parliamentary draftsman, known as the Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury, who in 1833 described his duties as "to draw or settle all the Bills that belong to Government in the Department of the Treasury", although he also produced bills for other departments. Despite this many bills continued to be drafted by other members of the bar, and one of these barristers (Henry Thring
Henry Thring, 1st Baron Thring
Henry Thring, 1st Baron Thring , was a British lawyer and civil servant.Thring was appointed First Parliamentary Counsel when that office was established in 1869, a position he held until 1901. He became known for his role as a parliamentary draftsman and as an innovator in the framing of legislation...
) suggested that "the subjects of Acts of Parliament, as well as the provisions by which the law is enforced, would admit of being reduced to a certain degree of uniformity; that the proper mode of sifting the materials and of arranging the clauses can be explained; and that the form of expressing the enactments might also be the subject of regulation". In response to this the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury was established on 8 February 1869, with Thring as Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury, the head of the office.
The office is small for a government department - in 1901 it consisted of "the Parliamentary Counsel and the Assistant Parliamentary Counsel, with three shorthand writers, an office-keeper, and an office boy". Two more Parliamentary Counsel were appointed in 1914 and 1930 respectively, and by 1960 the office had 16 counsel, along with their support staff. It currently consists of 61 counsel, with a 25-person support team. The OPC was initially part of HM Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
, but when the Civil Service Department was created in 1969 the OPC became a part of it, changing its name from Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury to simply the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. After the Civil Service Department was dissolved in 1980, the OPC became part of the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
.
Duties
The OPC is tasked with drafting all bills of the Parliament of the United KingdomParliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, and has also been known to draft Orders in Council that are "of exceptional importance or difficulty".
List of First Parliamentary Counsel
- Henry Thring (1869-1901)
- Sir Courtenay Ilbert (1901-1917)
- [...]
- Sir Geoffrey Bowman (2002-2006)
- Stephen LawsStephen LawsSir Stephen Charles Laws, KCB, QC, is a British lawyer and Civil Servant who has served since 2006 as the First Parliamentary Counsel.As head of the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, Laws is responsible for the drafting of all the government legislation which is laid before Parliament...
(2006-date)