Governance report debated
22 January 2015
The Governance Committee, chaired by Rt Hon Jack Straw, published its report on 17 December 2014. It recommended a package of reforms to improve the governance of the House of Commons. The report was debated in the Commons Chamber on 22 January 2015, on a motion to approve the principal recommendations.
The debate was opened by Jack Straw, Chair of the Committee.
- Watch Parliament TV: MPs debate House of Commons Governance (Motion), 22 January 2015
- Read Commons Hansard: MPs debate House of Commons Governance (Motion), 22 January 2015
- Report: House of Commons Governance
- House of Commons Governance Committee
Motion for debate
MPs debated the following motion:
"That this House welcomes the report of the House of Commons Governance Committee; notes the priority it has given to agreeing a package of proposals which can both significantly improve the governance of the House and be capable of attracting support from Members on all sides of the House, in a timely manner and well before the House is dissolved; agrees to the recommendations in Chapters 6 and 7, with the proviso that, without changing the party balance of the Commission as proposed in the report, the recommendations relating to the composition of the Commission be implemented so as to allow the Chairs of both the new Finance Committee and the Administration Committee to be elected to these positions rather than appointed to them by the Commission; and encourages the appropriate bodies in both Houses of Parliament to address the Committee’s remaining conclusions and recommendations."
The motion was agreed on question without division.
The Committee recommended
- Reforms to the House of Commons Commission to make it responsible for setting the strategic framework for the provision of services to the House with consequential changes to its membership including the addition of external and official members
- Finance and Administration Committees, representing the views of Members of Parliament, whose chairs should be members of the Commission
- The Clerk of the House to remain Head of the House Service, but supported by a new Director General with primary responsibility for the delivery of services
- The Management Board to be replaced with an Executive Committee chaired by the Director General
- New recruitment processes for the Clerk of the House and the Director General