House of Commons Commission
Encyclopedia
The House of Commons Commission is the overall supervisory body of the House of Commons Administration in the United Kingdom. The Commission is a corporate body established by the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978 (c.36). The Commission continues to exist during the dissolution period and the person who was Speaker
continues in office as a member of the Commission until a Speaker is chosen by the new Parliament.
, Serjeant at Arms, Library, and Official Report of the House of Commons. Its responsibilities are as follows:
Members of Parliament can question the spokesperson of the Commission in the same way as they can question Government ministers. The House of Commons Commission claims not to be a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
The Members Estimate includes funds for MPs' pay, expenses, and staffs, as well as Short Money
(financial assistance to opposition parties). The House of Commons created the Members Estimate Committee (MEC) to oversee it, but provided that its membership be the same as that of the Commission. The MEC has appointed a Members Estimate Audit Committee with the same membership as the Administration Audit Committee.
The House also created the Members' Allowances Committee to advise the MEC on its functions. It was also created to advise the MEC, Speaker, and Leader of the House on other allowances issues; to approve guidance for MPs on allowances, and to resolve questions regarding allowances rules referred by MPs.
With the creation of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
, funds for pay, allowances, and staffing are no longer part of the Members Estimate, reducing it by 80%. Because IPSA only took responsibility for MPs' pay during the 2010/11 financial year, there will still be a substantial Members' Estimate. But, the Director of General Resources has recommended folding the rump of the Members Estimate into the Administration Estimate beginning with 2011/12, and in their advice to the House of Commons during consideration of the bill that created IPSA, the members of the Estimates Audit Committees anticipated that would happen. Eliminating the Members Estimate would lead to the elimination of the MEC and Members Estimates Audit Committee, and quite possibly the Members' Allowances Committee.
, a member named by the Leader of the Opposition, and three members who are not Ministers of the Crown. The Speaker remains a member, despite a dissolution of Parliament, until a new Speaker is elected. Aside from the Leader of the House (who remains a member until a new Leader is appointed), the others also remain members during a dissolution unless they do not seek nomination as an MP or fail to be re-elected at the general election. As of 23 November 2010, its current members are as follows:
The membership of the Members Estimates Committee is identical to that of the Commission. However, because it is a committee, it ceases to exist during a dissolution of Parliament.
Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the House of Commons can refer to:*Speaker of the House of Commons *Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada*Speaker of the Northern Ireland House of Commons...
continues in office as a member of the Commission until a Speaker is chosen by the new Parliament.
Responsibilities
The Commission is responsible for the Administration Department and the departments of the Speaker, Clerk of the House of CommonsClerk of the House of Commons
The Clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 of the House of Commons of England...
, Serjeant at Arms, Library, and Official Report of the House of Commons. Its responsibilities are as follows:
- Setting the number and pay (in line with the civil service) of House staff
- Appointing staff of the House (excluding the Clerk of the House of Commons, Clerk Assistant, Serjeant at Arms, and Speaker's personal staff)
- Preparing and laying before the House the Estimates for the House of Commons Service
- Allocating functions to House departments
- Reporting annually to the House on its actions and on financial estimates for the financial year
Members of Parliament can question the spokesperson of the Commission in the same way as they can question Government ministers. The House of Commons Commission claims not to be a public authority for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.
Estimates and related committees
Currently, funding for the House of Commons is divided into two blocs: the Administration Estimate and the Members Estimate. The Administration Estimate provides for the Commons portion of the Parliamentary Estates, the Chamber, and Commons staff. The Commission takes direct responsibility for the Administration Estimate and is assisted by the Administration Audit Committee (made up of three MPs and outside three members) in auditing the Estimate.The Members Estimate includes funds for MPs' pay, expenses, and staffs, as well as Short Money
Short Money
Short Money is the common name given to the annual payment to Opposition parties in the United Kingdom House of Commons to help them with their costs. It is named after Edward Short , the-then Leader of the House of Commons who first proposed the payments...
(financial assistance to opposition parties). The House of Commons created the Members Estimate Committee (MEC) to oversee it, but provided that its membership be the same as that of the Commission. The MEC has appointed a Members Estimate Audit Committee with the same membership as the Administration Audit Committee.
The House also created the Members' Allowances Committee to advise the MEC on its functions. It was also created to advise the MEC, Speaker, and Leader of the House on other allowances issues; to approve guidance for MPs on allowances, and to resolve questions regarding allowances rules referred by MPs.
With the creation of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is an independent body created by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, largely as a response to the parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009. It establishes and monitors the expenses scheme for Members of the House of Commons, and is responsible for...
, funds for pay, allowances, and staffing are no longer part of the Members Estimate, reducing it by 80%. Because IPSA only took responsibility for MPs' pay during the 2010/11 financial year, there will still be a substantial Members' Estimate. But, the Director of General Resources has recommended folding the rump of the Members Estimate into the Administration Estimate beginning with 2011/12, and in their advice to the House of Commons during consideration of the bill that created IPSA, the members of the Estimates Audit Committees anticipated that would happen. Eliminating the Members Estimate would lead to the elimination of the MEC and Members Estimates Audit Committee, and quite possibly the Members' Allowances Committee.
Composition
The Commission consists of the Speaker, who serves as its chair, and five other members: the Leader of the House of CommonsLeader of the House of Commons
The Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons...
, a member named by the Leader of the Opposition, and three members who are not Ministers of the Crown. The Speaker remains a member, despite a dissolution of Parliament, until a new Speaker is elected. Aside from the Leader of the House (who remains a member until a new Leader is appointed), the others also remain members during a dissolution unless they do not seek nomination as an MP or fail to be re-elected at the general election. As of 23 November 2010, its current members are as follows:
- John BercowJohn BercowJohn Simon Bercow is a British politician who has been the Speaker of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom since June 2009. Prior to his election to Speaker he was a member of the Conservative party....
, ex officio as Speaker - Sir George YoungSir George Young, 6th BaronetSir George Samuel Knatchbull Young, 6th Baronet is a British politician. He is currently the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal, and has served as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament since 1974, having represented North West Hampshire since 1997, and Ealing Acton before...
, ex officio as Leader of the House of Commons - Hilary BennHilary BennHilary James Wedgwood Benn is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Leeds Central since 1999. He served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2003 to 2007 and as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...
, appointed by the Leader of the Opposition - Sir Paul BeresfordPaul BeresfordSir Alexander Paul Beresford is a British Conservative Party politician, practising dentist and the Member of Parliament for Mole Valley.-Early life:...
(Conservative) - Frank Doran (Labour)
- John ThursoJohn Sinclair, 3rd Viscount ThursoJohn Archibald Sinclair, 3rd Viscount Thurso , known as John Thurso, is a Scottish businessman and Liberal Democrat politician...
(Liberal Democrat)
The membership of the Members Estimates Committee is identical to that of the Commission. However, because it is a committee, it ceases to exist during a dissolution of Parliament.