Parliament lacks system to track Govt action on committee reports

The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence has raised concerns that Parliament has no formal system to check whether the Government acts on parliamentary committee recommendations.

This follows confirmation from Secretary-General to Parliament Jeanette Emberson that no such system exists.

In its review of Parliament’s 2023-2024 Annual Report, the committee said: “Of particular concern is the absence of a formal mechanism to monitor the implementation of recommendations made by parliamentary committees.”

Ms Emberson told the committee last month that the Secretariat did not follow up after a ministry or agency submitted its response.

She said Parliament could establish a register to record each recommendation and track its progress. Ministries and agencies could then be called back to explain any delays.

Opposition Member of Parliament Virendra Lal cited an example from the Standing Committee on Social Affairs, which recommended that Rakiraki Town Council reinstate the drainage levy.

“That was not done and it is still pending,” he said.

Committee chair Lenora Qereqeretabua noted that Standing Orders require ministers to report back to Parliament within 21 days of receiving a committee report.

The committee has recommended establishing a formal tracking framework, supported by regular status reports from ministries and agencies.

It said this “would significantly enhance Parliament’s oversight function”.

The committee also found that the lack of monitoring across Government agencies made it difficult to measure the long-term impact of its recommendations.

The workload is considerable. During the 2023-2024 reporting period, committees held 434 meetings, 55 public consultations and 41 site visits, and tabled 31 reports.

The review comes weeks before Parliament is due to dissolve on December 24, according to Ms Emberson.