Lords Committee to question Chair of House of Lords Appointments Commission

Areas the session is likely to cover include:

• What has the Commission's work consisted of since Lord Kakkar's appointment in October 2013?
• How does the Commission judge the propriety of nominees for peerages? How often are nominees refused on this basis?
• Is there a level of financial support for a political party that is acceptable in a nominee and consequently a level that would make it inappropriate to nominate someone for a peerage?
• Why has the number of Crossbench appointments to the Lords declined when the number of political appointments has increased since 2010?
• How can the Commission encourage more diversity in the membership of the House?
• Is there an optimal size for the House? Is it now too large?
• Should Scottish peers be able to sit in the House of Lords if Scotland were to become independent? 

The evidence session will start at 10.30am on Wednesday 26 February in Committee Room 1 of the House of Lords. 

The session will be webcast at www.parliamentlive.tv and is also open to the public. Journalists wishing to attend should go to Parliament's Cromwell Green Entrance and should allow time for security screening.