Lay membership of the Committee on Standards and Privileges

The witness is:

3.15pm

Dr Malcolm Jack, Clerk of the House of Commons

An uncorrected transcript of the evidence session will appear on the Committee’s website within about a week of the date of the session.

Background to the inquiry: On 9 February 2011 the Committee launched its inquiry into lay membership of the Committee on Standards and Privileges.

This was following the resolution passed by the House on 2 December 2010 inviting the Procedure Committee to bring forward proposals to implement the principle set out in the Twelfth Report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life that lay members should sit on the Committee on Standards and Privileges.

The Committee agreed to take this forward by conducting an inquiry with the following terms of reference:

To inquire into the privilege implications and practical considerations of lay membership of the Committee on Standards and Privileges, including the structure of the Committee, the participation of non-Members in select committee meetings and decisions, the number of lay members and the quorum, the appointments process for the lay members and other relevant matters; and to make recommendations.

Guidance for those wishing to attend select committee meetings held in public can be found at: http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/committees.cfm