Q1.

STANDING ORDER

Standing orders are rules agreed by the house that govern the way its business operates in the chamber of
committees. Each rule has a number and is sometimes divided up into paragraphs, which are also numbered.
Standing orders in most parliaments across the world are made public and are sometimes found on parliament’s
website.

These rules which govern and guide parliament’s operation are called standing order because they are standing in
the sense that they do not relapse at the end of each session of parliament. Standing orders are sometimes not the
complete guide to procedure in parliament because much of the business is determined by custom, precedent,
resolutions of the house and speaker’s rulings.

Standing orders can be set aside if the house agrees a motion to do this. The motion usually state: “Notwithstanding
the provisions of the standing order No. … “ such motions can be debated and voted on. The house or parliament
can also agree new standing orders.

Standing orders are liable to be suspended. In Australia for instance, a motion to suspend standing orders is moved
pursuant to notice or by leave of the house. However, it can also be moved without notice in cases of necessity.

Motions to suspend the standing orders are most commonly moved in order to:

o Facilitate the progress of business through the house;

o Extend or reduce time limits for speeches;
o Enable the motion to be moved without notice
o Enable a particular item of business to be called on immediately.

If standing orders have been suspended in order to permit certain actions, a further motion to suspend standing
orders for another unrelated purpose may not be moved until the action which was the subject of the first motion
has been completed. Any motion moved without notice and without leave to suspend standing orders must be
carried by an absolute majority of members. The suspension of standing orders is limited in its operation to the
particular purpose for which such suspension has been sought. There are at present 83 standing orders in the
parliament of Sierra Leone, and sections 81 and 82 talk about amendment and suspension of standing orders
respectively.

There are standing orders for both public and private businesses and they may cover how business is arranged and
conducted, how time is to be allocated, and rules relating to the operation of parliamentary procedures and
committees. Standing orders can be adopted, amended or repealed by a motion and decision of the relevant house.
Standing orders continue to stand in full force from one session to the next.

Q2. CABINET PAPER PRESENTATION

Cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch’s top leaders.
Members of cabinet are often called cabinet ministers or secretaries. It can also be a body of advisers to the head of
state who also serves as the head of government department. It has become an important element of government
wherever legislative powers have been vested in parliament, but its form differs markedly in various countries.

Cabinet’s role is to direct government policy and make decisions about national issues. Cabinet minister spend a lot
of time discussing current national problems and how these can be resolved. In cabinet meetings, ministers present
bills – proposed laws – prepared by their government department. Cabinet considers these bills and recommend to
minister whether the bills should be introduced into parliament or changes should be made. Sometimes cabinet sets
up a sub-committee of ministers to examine issues in a greater detail.

In Great Britain ministers are appointed by the prime minister, who in turn has been appointed by the monarch on
the basis of ability to command a majority of votes in the Commons. The prime minister must put together a
cabinet that represents and balances the various factions within his or her own party (or within a coalition of
parties). Cabinet members must all be members of Parliament, as must the prime minister. The members of a
cabinet head the principal government departments, or ministries.

Cabinet ministers are responsible for their departments, but the cabinet as a whole is accountable to Parliament for
its actions, and its individual members must be willing and able to publicly defend the cabinet’s policies. Cabinet
members can freely disagree with each other within the secrecy of cabinet meetings, but once a decision has been
reached, all are obligated to support the cabinet’s policies, both in the Commons and before the general public. The
loss of a vote of confidence or the defeat of a major legislative bill in the Commons can mean a cabinet’s fall from
power and the collective resignation of its members. Despite the need for consensus and collective action within a
cabinet, ultimate decision-making power rests in the prime minister as the party leader. Various other member
countries of the Commonwealth, notably India, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, maintain cabinet systems of
government that are closely related to that developed in Great Britain.

Cabinet of the United States

The U.S. president’s cabinet is entirely different from the British-style cabinet. It is composed of the heads of
executive departments chosen by the president with the consent of the Senate, but the members do not hold seats in
Congress, and their tenure, like that of the president, does not depend on favourable votes on administration
measures in the national legislature. Cabinet meetings are not required under the U.S. Constitution, which in fact
makes no mention of such a body. The existence of the cabinet and its operations are matters of custom rather than
of law, and the cabinet as a collective body has no legal existence or power.

The steps involved in Cabinet submission.

Proposal

Early identification of matters that require Cabinet consideration will enable the prime minister to develop a
forward agenda to support wider consultation and deeper project management in the preparation of drafting
submissions.

Twice a year, the prime minister asks Ministers to submit proposals for submissions they intend to bring to Cabinet
or to a Cabinet Committee in the next 12 months. Proposals must first be endorsed by the relevant lead agency
Secretary and then by all sponsoring Ministers. The prime minister then considers all Cabinet proposals and
approves listing on the forward agenda. Committee Chairs similarly consider items raised for their Committees and
approve the forward agenda.

Outside of these calls for proposals, Ministers may still put forward urgent and unanticipated proposals for Cabinet
or a Cabinet Committee. This must be done via a letter to the prime minister for Cabinet items or via a letter to the
relevant Chair (copying the prime minister) for Committee items. Letters must attach the ad-hoc proposal template.
Collaboration and the pre-draft steps for a submission

Once a proposal is identified and has been approved for Cabinet's consideration, the draft submission is prepared
using the Cabinet submission template and guidelines. A submission should only be drafted by a department or
agency on the instruction of the relevant Minister, following prime minister’s approval to proceed.

At an early stage, your department or agency should consult with departments and agencies directly affected by the
proposal

Draft submission stage

Once the Secretary of the department has approved the draft submission, the relevant Minister approves it for
circulation and consultation then circulates it for comment.

Comments on draft

The draft submission is circulated to CLOs who seek the views of relevant staff from their department and other
agencies. The consultation period should be a minimum of 5 full working days. Cabinet submissions are circulated
to all CLOs

Cabinet Committee submissions are circulated only to relevant agencies. CLOs consolidate their cluster's
comments into a single response setting out key issues, which the Secretary (or their delegate) must approve. CLOs
should attempt to resolve conflicting views within the cluster. However, in limited circumstances it may be
appropriate for the cluster's comments to specify the advice of one or more particular agencies.

Comments contain advice about the adequacy, feasibility and quality of proposals. Comments are not formally
approved by Ministers, but Ministers should be consulted on any sensitive aspects before comments are submitted.

Comments on the draft submission are summarised in the consultation section of the final submission. This
provides transparency about the views of clusters, the issues they have raised and how they have been addressed.

Departments and agencies should discuss substantial issues with the originating agency before submitting
comments.

Final submission stage

The final submission takes account major issues that were raised in comments on the draft submission and specify
how they were resolved.

If there are major issues raised in relation to the draft submissions, the sponsoring Minister may determine that
more time is needed to develop the final submission. A postponement of the meeting date for consideration of the
final submission may be sought.

The originating department or agency amends the submission to address comments from other departments and/or
agencies and incorporates comments on the draft submission into the consultation section of the final submission.
This provides transparency about the views of agencies, the issues they have raised and how they have been
addressed.

Once the Secretary of the department has approved the final submission, the relevant Minister approves it for
consultation

Coordinated Comments
The final submission is then circulated to CLOs who again consult agencies in their agency to ensure key issues
raised have been adequately addressed. This consultation period should be a minimum of 2 full working days.

At the end of the consultation period, CLOs submit Coordinated Comments approved by their Secretary (or
Secretary's delegate). These should succinctly set out any significant outstanding issues. Coordinated Comments
should not be used to raise new issues, unless they were introduced in the final submission.

At this point, no further changes are made to the final submission. The final submission and Coordinated
Comments are then ready for consideration by the Minister.

Lodgement

After any required consultation periods are completed, the Minister considers the Coordinated Comments received
on the final submission and lodges the submission for consideration by Cabinet.

Coordinated Comments are distributed to Cabinet with the final submission once it is lodged by the relevant
minister.

The final submission must be lodged a minimum six days before the scheduled Cabinet meeting.

Six-day rule

A six-day rule applies to all Cabinet submissions – this means the minimum time between a submission being
lodged and considered at a Cabinet meeting is six business days to allow Ministers time to consider and seek advice
on submissions.

Supplements to final submissions

In rare and urgent circumstances, a Minister may amend the recommendations of, or provide further information in
relation to, a final or lodged Cabinet submission. This may be considered necessary if it is determined that
additional information is required before Cabinet or a Committee considers the submission or if a decision has been
made during the six day lodgement period that affects the Cabinet submission.

Supplements must be lodged by close of business at least two days before the meeting date where the Cabinet
submission will be considered.

Consideration should be given as to whether the supplement addresses issues raised in the Coordinated Comments
received on the submission and, if time allows, whether it may be more suitable to instead re-circulate a new final
submission for Coordinated Comments. This ensures that Coordinated Comments are still current when the
submission is considered.

Q3. REPORT WRITING

Report writing is a formal style of writing elaborately on a topic. The tone of a report and report writing format is
always formal. The important section to focus on is the target audience. For example – report writing about a
school event, report writing about a business case, etc.

The facts and information presented in the report should not only have to be bias-free, but they also have to be a
100% correct. Proof-reading and fact-checking is always what you do as a thumb rule before submitting a report.
One needs to write reports with much analysis. The purpose of report writing is essential to inform the reader about
a topic, minus one’s opinion on the topic.

It’s simply a portrayal of facts, as it is. Even if one gives inferences, solid analysis, charts, tables and data is
provided. Mostly, it is specified by the person who’s asked for the report whether they would like your take or not
if that is the case.

In many cases, you need to be clear about your own suggestions too for a specific case after a factual report. That
depends on why you are writing the report and who you are writing it for in the first place. Knowing your
audience’s motive for asking for that report is very important as it sets the course of the facts focused in your
report.

Kinds of Reports

Based on some special characteristics, a report can be a certain kind. Why classify them in kinds? Well, depending
upon the purpose of the report, it’s always best to know what kind would be the best for that case.

For example, informal reports in office formal contexts may not be suitable. In that case, even if your report is on
point and the best, just the structure or format or language could work against your report.

Long Report and Short Reports:

These kinds of reports are quite clear, as the name suggests. A two-page report or sometimes referred to as a
memorandum is short, and a thirty-page report is absolutely long. But what makes a clear division of short reports
or long reports? Well, usually, notice that longer reports are generally written in a formal manner.

Internal and External Reports:

As the name suggests, an internal report stays within a certain organization or group of people. In the case of office
settings, internal reports are for within the organization.

We prepare external reports, such as a news report in the newspaper about an incident or the annual reports of
companies for distribution outside the organization. We call these as public reports.

Vertical and Lateral Reports:

This is about the hierarchy of the reports’ultimate target. If the report is for your management or for your mentees,
it’s a vertical report. Wherever a direction of upwards or downwards comes into motion, we call it a vertical report.

Lateral reports, on the other hand, assist in coordination in the organization. A report traveling between units of the
same organization level (for example, a report among the administration and finance departments) is lateral.

Periodic Reports:

Periodic reports are sent out on regularly pre-scheduled dates. In most cases, their direction is upward and serves as
management control. Some, like annual reports, is not vertical but is a Government mandate to be periodic in
nature.

That is why we have annual or quarterly or half-yearly reports. If they are this frequent, it only makes sense to pre-
set the structure of these reports and just fill in the data every period. That’s exactly what happens in most cases
too.

Informational and Analytical Reports:

Informational reports (attendance reports, annual budget reports, monthly financial reports, and such) carry
objective information from one area of an organization to maybe a larger system.

Analytical reports (scientific research, feasibility reports, and employee appraisals) show attempts to solve actual
problems. These analytical reports usually require suggestions at the end.

Proposal Reports:

These kinds of reports are like an extension to the analytical/problem-solving reports. A proposal is a document one
prepares to describe how one organization can provide a solution to a problem they are facing.

There’s usually always a need to prepare a report in a business set-up. The end goal is usually very solution-
oriented. We call such kinds of reports as proposal reports.

Functional Reports:

These kinds of reports include marketing reports, financial reports, accounting reports, and a spectrum of other
reports that provide a function specifically. By and large, we can include almost all reports in most of these
categories. Furthermore, we can include a single report in several kinds of reports.

Report Writing Format

The following are the parts of a report format that is most common.

1. Executive summary – highlights of the main report

2. Table of Contents – index page
3. Introduction – origin, essentials of the main subject
4. Body – main report
5. Conclusion – inferences, measures taken, projections
6. Reference – sources of information
7. Appendix

1. Executive Summary
You summarize the main points of the report, such as the report topic, the data obtained, the data analysis methods,
and recommendations based on the data. The summary could be as short as a paragraph or as long as five pages,
depending on the length of the full report.

Usually, the recipient of the report doesn’t always have the time to read through the entire report. This summary
gives the reader a gist of the important points. Remember that although attached as the first page, this summary is
always putting a perspective for the entire report, meaning that effort-wise, the writer always needs to include it at
the end.

The summary should contain:

 the purpose of the report

 what you did (analysis) and what you found (results)
 your recommendations; these recommendations should be short and not go beyond a page
2. Table of Contents
The report should begin with a table of contents. This explains the audience, author, and basic purpose of the
attached report. It should be short and to the point.

3. Introduction
This section is the beginning of your report. It highlights the major topics that are covered and provides background
information on why the data in the report was collected. It also contains a top view of what’s covered in the report.

4. Body
The body of the report describes the problem, the data that was collected, sometimes in the form of table or charts,
and discusses with reasons. The body is usually broken into subsections, with subheadings that highlight the further
breakdown of a point. Report writing format is very specific that way about clear and crisp headings and
subheadings.

This just structures out readers clarity in understanding and further enhances the logical flow that can get hard to
follow. Since a report has no personal bias or opinions, you can imagine that reading through a report can be a bit
boring and people may find it hard to follow through. In such a case, it’s always best to create pointers and lay out
the points in short and simple methods.

Note: Tables and figures must all be labeled

5. Conclusion
At the end of our main body lies the tying of ends together in the much-awaited conclusion. The conclusion
explains how the data described in the body of the document may be interpreted or what conclusions may be
drawn. The conclusion often suggests how to use the data to improve some aspect of the business or recommends
additional research.

This solution then may be implemented to solve a given problem the report was made for in the first place. Big
consultancies or service providers prepare reports in the form of Microsoft Powerpoint or the Keynote in Mac to
present to the stakeholders. At the end of which lies the conclusive suggestion section.

6. Reference
If you used other sources of information to help write your report, such as a government database, you would
include that in the references. The references section lists the resources used to research or collect the data for the
report. References provide proof for your points. Also, this provides solid reasoning for the readers so that they can
review the original data sources themselves. Also, credit must be given where credit is due.

7. Appendix
Lastly, comes the appendix. Although this one is not necessary, more like an optional element. This may include
additional technical information that is not necessary to the explanation provided in the body and conclusion but
further supports the findings, such as tables or charts or pictures, or additional research not cited in the body but
relevant to the discussion. Note: Tables and figures must all be labelled.
Reference;

Standing Orders, Parliament of Sierra Leone, available on net, https://www.parliament.gov.sl

Committee Reports – Standing Orders Committee, available on net, https://www.parliament.gov.sl

Parliamentary Procedure – the Standing Orders, available on net, https://www.ourcommons.ca

Standing Orders – MPs’ Guide to Orocedure – UK Parliament, available on net,

https://guidetoprocedure.parliament.uk

Cabinet – Parliamentary Education Office Australia, available on net, https://peo.gov.government.au.com

Cabinet Paper / Hoe Cabinet Works, UK, available on net, https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Cabinet, Description, Background, Functions and Facts, available on net, https://www.britannica.com

Cabinet UK Parliament, available on net, https://www.parliament.uk>glossary

The UK Cabinet: Background and Function available on net, https://www.studysmarter.co.uk

Report Writing/ Skills You Need available on net https://www.skillsyouneed.com

How to write a Report: A Guide, available on net, https://www.grammarly.com

Report writing Format, Topics, Examples, available on net https://www.successcds.net

Report writing: process, principles and styles, available on net https://www.researchgate.net