The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) is responsible for drafting all government Bills that are introduced to
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. Established in 1869, the OPC has been part of various departments and is currently part of the
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
. Led by
Elizabeth Gardiner
Dame Elizabeth Anne Finlay Gardiner DCB KC (Hon) (born 19 March 1966) is a British solicitor and senior civil servant who has served as the First Parliamentary Counsel since November 2015.
After education at the University of Edinburgh and w ...
, the
First Parliamentary Counsel and
Permanent Secretary
A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...
, the OPC consists of 60 members of staff, 47 of whom are lawyers and 13 of whom are support staff. The lawyers who work in the office are referred to as
Parliamentary counsel or Parliamentary draftsmen.
History
Bills were originally drafted by normal
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
s,
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
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
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 b ...
, 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 KCB (3 November 1818 – 4 February 1907), was a British lawyer and civil servant.
Early life
Henry was born in Alford, Somerset on 3 November 1818. He was the second son of Sarah (nΓ©e Jenkyns) Thring (1791β ...
) 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 β 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 47 counsel, with a 13-person support team. The OPC was initially part of
HM Treasury
His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...
, 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
The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
.
Duties
The OPC is tasked with drafting all
bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
s of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
, and has also been known to draft
Orders in Council
An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...
that are "of exceptional importance or difficulty".
List of First Parliamentary Counsel
*
Henry Thring, 1st Baron Thring (1869β1886).
[''The Times'', 3 August 1886, p. 7, for Thring's resignation and Jenkyn's succession, as well as Ilbert's appointment as Assistant Parliamentary Counsel in succession of Jenkyns who had held the office since 1869.]
*Sir
Henry Jenkyns (1886β1899).
*Sir
Courtenay Ilbert
Sir Courtenay Peregrine Ilbert, (12 June 1841 β 14 May 1924) was a distinguished British lawyer and civil servant who served as legal adviser to the Viceroy of India's Council for many years until his eventual return from India to England. H ...
(1899β1902).
["Ilbert, Sir Courtenay Peregrine"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 26 January 2019.[''The Times'', 27 February 1902, p. 9, for Ilbert's resignation as FPC and Chalmers's succession, as well as Arthur Thring's appointment as Assistant Parliamentary Counsel in place of Chalmers.]
*Sir
Mackenzie Dalzell Chalmers
Sir Mackenzie Dalzell Edwin Stewart Chalmers (7 February 1847 β 22 December 1927) was a British judge and civil servant. He was Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury, a judge of the county courts and a Law Member of the Viceroy's Council in Ind ...
(1902β1903).
["Chalmers, Sir Mackenzie Dalzell"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 26 January 2019.
*Sir
Arthur Thring
Sir Arthur Theodore Thring, KCB, DL (7 February 1860 β 17 April 1932) was an English lawyer, parliamentary draftsman and parliamentary clerk.
Career
Born on 7 February 1860, Arthur Theodore Thring was the third son of Theodore Thring, a "cou ...
(1903β1917).
* Sir
Frederick Francis Liddell
Sir Frederick Francis Liddell (7 June 1865 β 19 March 1950) was a British lawyer and civil servant. He is noted for being First Parliamentary Counsel.
Early life
He was born in 1865, the son of Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxfo ...
(1917β1928)
* Sir
William Graham-Harrison (1928β1933)
* Sir
Maurice Gwyer
Sir Maurice Linford Gwyer, (25 April 1878 β 12 October 1952) was a British lawyer, judge, and academic administrator. He served as Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University from 1938 to 1950, and Chief Justice of India from 1937 to 1943). He is cr ...
(1933β1937)
* Sir
Granville Ram
Sir Lucius Abel John Granville Ram, KCB, QC, JP (24 June 1885 β 23 December 1952), commonly known as Sir Granville Ram, was an Anglo-Irish lawyer and parliamentary draftsman.
Early life
Ram was born in Belgravia on 24 June 1885; his father, ...
(1937β1947).
["Ram, Sir (Lucius Abel John) Granville"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 7 November 2018.
* Sir
Alan Ellis (1947β1953).
* Sir
John Rowlatt
Sir John Rowlatt, KCB, KCIE, MC, QC (19 November 1898 β 4 July 1956) was a British lawyer who served as First Parliamentary Counsel.
Biography
John Rowlatt was the third son of Sidney Rowlatt, a High Court judge who presided over the a ...
(1953β1956)
* Sir
NoΓ«l Hutton (1956β1968).
["Hutton, Sir NoΓ«l (Kilpatrick)"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 7 November 2018.
* Sir
John Fiennes
John Fiennes ( 1612β1708) was the third son of Puritan noble and politician William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele. He served in the Parliamentarian army during the First English Civil War, before resigning his commission when elected M ...
(1968β1972).
["Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, Sir John (Saye Wingfield)"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 7 November 2018.
* Sir
Anthony Stainton (1972β1977).
["Stainton, Sir Anthony (Nathaniel)"](_blank)
''Who Was Who
''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...
'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 8 November 2018.
* Sir
Henry Rowe (1977β1981).
["Rowe, Sir Henry Peter"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 24 January 2019.
* Sir
George Engle
Sir George Lawrence Jose Engle (13 September 1926 β 14 September 2016) was a British barrister and First Parliamentary Counsel between 1981 and 1987.
Engle was a contemporary at Charterhouse (where he was in Hodgsonites) of Gerald Priestla ...
(1981β1987)
* Sir
Henry de Waal
Sir Constant Hendrik de Waal, KCB, QC (1 May 1931 β 1 October 2016), known as Sir Henry de Waal, was a British-Dutch lawyer and parliamentary draftsman.
Biography
Early life and education
De Waal was born in 1931 to Hendrik de Waal and E ...
(1987β1991).
["De Waal, Sir Constant Hendrik, (Sir Henry)"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 24 January 2019.
* Sir
Peter Graham (1991β1994)
* Sir
Christopher Jenkins (1994β1999)
* Sir
Edward Caldwell
Sir Edward George Caldwell, KCB (born 21 August 1941) is a British lawyer and retired parliamentary draftsman.
Early life and career
Born in 1941, Caldwell attended Clifton College and Worcester College, Oxford, (1999β2002)
* Sir
Geoffrey Bowman
Sir Edwin Geoffrey Bowman, KCB, KC (Hon) (born 27 January 1946), commonly known as Sir Geoffrey Bowman, is a British lawyer and retired parliamentary draftsman.
Early life and education
Born in 1946, Bowman attended Roundhay School before he ...
(2002β2006)
* Sir
Stephen Laws
Sir Stephen Charles Laws, is a British lawyer and civil servant who served as the First Parliamentary Counsel between 2006 and 2012.
Laws read law at Bristol, graduating in 1972. He was the first in his family to go to University. After a year ...
(2006β2012)
* Sir
Richard Heaton
Sir Richard Nicholas Heaton, KCB (born 5 October 1965) is a barrister and former senior British civil servant who was the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Clerk of the Crown in Chancery from September 2015 until resigning in ...
(2012β2015)
* Dame
Elizabeth Gardiner
Dame Elizabeth Anne Finlay Gardiner DCB KC (Hon) (born 19 March 1966) is a British solicitor and senior civil servant who has served as the First Parliamentary Counsel since November 2015.
After education at the University of Edinburgh and w ...
(2015β)
Second Parliamentary Counsel
* 1869β1886: Sir
Henry Jenkyns.
*1886β1899: Sir
Courtenay Ilbert
Sir Courtenay Peregrine Ilbert, (12 June 1841 β 14 May 1924) was a distinguished British lawyer and civil servant who served as legal adviser to the Viceroy of India's Council for many years until his eventual return from India to England. H ...
.
*1899β1902: Sir
Mackenzie Dalzell Chalmers
Sir Mackenzie Dalzell Edwin Stewart Chalmers (7 February 1847 β 22 December 1927) was a British judge and civil servant. He was Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury, a judge of the county courts and a Law Member of the Viceroy's Council in Ind ...
.
*1902β1903: Sir
Arthur Thring
Sir Arthur Theodore Thring, KCB, DL (7 February 1860 β 17 April 1932) was an English lawyer, parliamentary draftsman and parliamentary clerk.
Career
Born on 7 February 1860, Arthur Theodore Thring was the third son of Theodore Thring, a "cou ...
.
["Sir Arthur Thring", ''The Times'' (London), 18 April 1932, p. 17]
* 1903β1917: Sir
Frederick Francis Liddell
Sir Frederick Francis Liddell (7 June 1865 β 19 March 1950) was a British lawyer and civil servant. He is noted for being First Parliamentary Counsel.
Early life
He was born in 1865, the son of Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxfo ...
.
* 1917β1928: Sir
William Graham-Harrison
* 1929β1937: Sir
Granville Ram
Sir Lucius Abel John Granville Ram, KCB, QC, JP (24 June 1885 β 23 December 1952), commonly known as Sir Granville Ram, was an Anglo-Irish lawyer and parliamentary draftsman.
Early life
Ram was born in Belgravia on 24 June 1885; his father, ...
.
["Ram, Sir (Lucius Abel John) Granville"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 7 November 2018.
* 1937β1946: Sir
John Stainton
John Stainton is an Australian film and television producer and director. He was close friends with Australian naturalist Steve Irwin until his death in September 2006. Stainton also created Irwin's popular nature documentary television seri ...
.
["Stainton, Sir John (Armitage)"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 8 November 2018.
* 1947β1953: Sir
John Rowlatt
Sir John Rowlatt, KCB, KCIE, MC, QC (19 November 1898 β 4 July 1956) was a British lawyer who served as First Parliamentary Counsel.
Biography
John Rowlatt was the third son of Sidney Rowlatt, a High Court judge who presided over the a ...
* 1953β1956: Sir
NoΓ«l Hutton.
["Sir Noel Hutton", ''The Times'' (London), 15 June 1984, p. 12.]
* 1956β1968: Sir
John Fiennes
John Fiennes ( 1612β1708) was the third son of Puritan noble and politician William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele. He served in the Parliamentarian army during the First English Civil War, before resigning his commission when elected M ...
.
["Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, Sir John (Saye Wingfield)"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 7 November 2018.
* 1968β1969:
Harold Chorley.
["Chorley, (Charles) Harold"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 25 January 2019.
* 1970β1973: Sir
Stanley Krusin
Sir Stanley Marks Krusin, CB (8 June 1908 β 28 April 1998) was a British lawyer and parliamentary draftsman.
Early life and education
He was born in 1908, the son of Henry Krusin, a West Hampstead agent. He attended St Paul's School and the ...
.
["Krusin, Sir Stanley (Marks)"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 25 January 2019.
* 1973β1980:
Terence Skemp
Terence Rowland Frazer Skemp, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB, Queen's Counsel, QC (14 February 1915 β 15 March 1996) was a British lawyer and parliamentary draftsman.
Early life, education and war service
Born in 1915 in British India ...
.
["Terence Skemp", ''The Times'', 28 March 1996, p. 23.]
* 1973β1976: Sir
Henry Rowe (jointly).
["Rowe, Sir Henry Peter"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 24 January 2019.
* 1980β1981: Sir
George Engle
Sir George Lawrence Jose Engle (13 September 1926 β 14 September 2016) was a British barrister and First Parliamentary Counsel between 1981 and 1987.
Engle was a contemporary at Charterhouse (where he was in Hodgsonites) of Gerald Priestla ...
* 1981β1986: Sir
Henry De Waal
Sir Constant Hendrik de Waal, KCB, QC (1 May 1931 β 1 October 2016), known as Sir Henry de Waal, was a British-Dutch lawyer and parliamentary draftsman.
Biography
Early life and education
De Waal was born in 1931 to Hendrik de Waal and E ...
.
["De Waal, Sir Constant Hendrik, (Sir Henry)"](_blank)
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 24 January 2019.
* 1987β1991: Sir
Peter Graham
* 1991β1994: Sir
Christopher Jenkins
* 1994β1996:
David Saunders
* The title was then not in use publicly from at least 2000 to Cook's appointment in 2007 (see ''Civil Service Yearbook'').
* 2007βpresent:
David Cook David Cook may refer to:
Entertainment
* David Cook (game designer) (active since 1980s), American game designer for TSR
* David Cook (singer) (born 1982), winner of the seventh season of ''American Idol''
* David Cook (writer) (1940β2015), Briti ...
See also
*
Parliamentary Counsel
References
Bibliography
*
*Geoffrey Bowman,
Why is there a Parliamentary Counsel Office? (2005) 26 Statute Law Rev 69β81
*Sir Henry Engle, 'The Rise of the Parliamentary Counsel'
External links
Official website
{{Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office (United Kingdom)
1869 establishments in the United Kingdom