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Parliament (Joint Departments) Act 2007

The Government are today publishing Cm 7998 Post-Legislative Assessment of the Parliament (Joint Departments) Act 2007 as part of the post-legislative scrutiny process detailed in the document Post-legislative Scrutiny—The Government's Approach (Cm 7320). The Parliament (Joint Departments) Act 2007 was intended to create a framework for the employment of staff in joint departments of both Houses of Parliament, bearing in mind that neither the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978 nor the Parliamentary Corporate Bodies Act 1992 made such provision. The legislation was designed to facilitate the creation of PICT (Parliamentary Information and Communications Technology) as the first such joint department, but also to put in place an enabling mechanism for the future. There was no specific intention that there should be more joint departments, but the issue remains under review while the administrations of both Houses consider ways in which resources might be used more economically. Having consulted with officials in both Houses and with parliamentary counsel, the Government have assessed that the Act has worked well to date and no difficulties have arisen that were not anticipated and dealt with in the drafting.