John Thurso
(Representing the House of Commons Commission): On 22 January the House of Commons agreed a motion supporting the recommendations in the report of the Select Committee on House of Commons Governance. The House of Commons Commission held an additional meeting on 26 January to ensure a speedy start to implementation of the Committee’s recommendations.
At its meeting, the Commission agreed a specification for the position of Clerk of the House that incorporates the job description set out in annex A to the Governance Committee’s report. The Commission also agreed a recruitment process in line with the Committee’s recommendations. Details will be published in the brief for candidates when the recruitment is launched. The intention is that the recruitment process should be completed before the dissolution of Parliament on 30 March.
The Commission has also taken two other initial decisions:
It has agreed that implementation of the Committee’s recommendations will assume no change to the membership of the Members Estimate Committee (option “A” in paragraph 152 of the Committee’s report).
It has agreed to write to the House Committee to propose a first joint meeting of the Commission and the House Committee in October 2015. This will provide time for the Commission to be established in its new form and for an appointment to the new post of Director General of the House of Commons. (See paragraph 128 of the committee’s report.)
The Commission is next meeting on 9 February when, among other matters, it expects to consider the job specification and recruitment process for the position of Director General of the House of Commons.
[HCWS223]