The House of Lords Information Committee is holding the first parliamentary inquiry where evidence can be submitted via YouTube.

The inquiry into how Parliament can do more to engage with the public will be the first to admit evidence that is not in written form.

One of the areas the committee will consider is how Parliament can make more use of online communication. The aim is to ensure the public feel able to interact with Parliament rather than passively receiving news from Westminster.

The committee is also hosting a web forum on the Parliament web site, allowing the public to submit their views on some suggested topics online.

Committee chairman Lord Renton of Mount Harry said the use of YouTube as a medium for the public to submit their views on this issue reflects the committee's desire to get many different thoughts on the matter.

"We would love to hear from as wide a range of people as possible on how they would like to interact with Parliament. By using YouTube, and the web forum, we hope we will get comments from people who might not have submitted evidence to a parliamentary inquiry before," he said.