South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon and Principal of Easton College David Lawrence are the first Member of Parliament and Higher Education Principal to take part in the Association of Colleges' Parliamentary and College Work Shadowing (PACES) scheme.

The aim is for both to get a better understanding of each other's jobs and how Parliament and colleges work so they can communicate and help each other more effectively.

Mr Bacon said: “I was delighted to welcome David Lawrence to the House of Commons where he was able to listen to Prime Minister's Questions and then sit in on a Public Accounts Committee hearing when NHS boss Sir Nigel Crisp was asked to explain the National Health Service response to hospital-acquired infection and the problems it causes”.

Mr Lawrence also attended one of Mr Bacon's constituency surgeries and listened to a wide range of problems raised by constituents.

Mr Lawrence said: “This has been a fascinating eye-opener into the pressures of an MP's workload. Prime Minister's Question Time was a good lesson in the value of effective briefing and the Public Accounts Committee was action-packed with some dynamic grilling from Richard of a top-ranking civil servant. Some of the surgery cases addressed issues which I also deal with as a college Principal and I was impressed with the speed that Richard deals with a mountain of correspondence”.

Mr Bacon said: “Discovering the pressures which other people face in their jobs and seeing how they tackle them is very worthwhile. I am looking forward to attending a meeting of the Corporation of Easton College later in the year when I shall also get the chance to meet managers, staff and students and see how David runs a very large and successful college of further education”.

See also:
LOCAL NEWS: Bacon praises Easton College