Decisions 9 November 2009

Present:

The Speaker, in the Chair
Sir Stuart Bell
Nick Harvey
Leader of the House
Mr David Maclean
Sir George Young

1. CHILDCARE

The Commission agreed that a decision would be made at the next meeting on the basis of additional information about costs and possible locations, with a view to the new service, paid for by its users, starting soon after the general election.

2. HOUSE'S EQUALITY SCHEME

The Commission approved the House's Equality Scheme.

3. MEMBER-STAFF RELATIONS

The Commission agreed to the measures proposed by the Management Board.

4. DECANT FEASIBILITY STUDY

The Commission took note of the paper.

5. INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE PALACE

The Commission took note of the paper.

6. COMMISSION MEDIA ADVICE

The Commission agreed to extend the contract of service with its media adviser until the Dissolution of Parliament.

7. REVIEW OF PAST ACA CLAIMS (MEC)

The Committee considered the steps to be taken when it receives Sir Thomas Legg's report.

8. UPDATE ON THE INDEPENDENT PARLIAMENTARY STANDARDS AUTHORITY

The Commission agreed to invite the Interim Chief Executive of the IPSA to its next meeting to discuss where the dividing line should be between the functions of the House and the IPSA. It agreed that the Director General of Resources should be able to recruit additional temporary staff for the transition period and use them to work on Members' allowances.

9. THE KELLY REPORT (MEC)

The Committee considered the report.

10. FOI PUBLICATION ON ALLOWANCES (MEC)

The Committee noted the progress in preparing redacted scans for Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) for 2008/09 and the first quarter of 2009/10 for publication. It agreed that net headline figures for each allowance and each Member should be included with the 2008/09 allowances material to be published in January.

11. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Commission/MEC will take place at 4.30 pm on Monday 23 November 2009 in Speaker's House.