Decisions 11 May 2009

Present:

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

1. EMPLOYMENT OF MEMBERS' STAFF (Commission)

The Commission agreed to put out a paper, drawing on the material collected by the MEC in 2008, as the basis for consultation with Members and others. It agreed a timetable for its examination of the matter.

2. PAY OF SENIOR STAFF (Commission)

The Commission agreed that the House should follow the guidelines set by the Government for the Senior Civil Service, including a headline increase in average base pay of 1.5%.

3. EXTERNAL MEMBERS OF AUDIT COMMITTEES (Commission/MEC)

The Commission and Committee agreed to the Audit Committees' recommendation that Mark Clarke and Stephen Brooker should be appointed as external members of the Administration Estimate Audit Committee and the Members Estimate Audit Committee from September 2009 and July 2010 respectively.

4. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION PUBLICATION (MEC)

The Committee agreed to bring forward the publication of the scanned receipts and claims for 2004/05 to 2007/08 by several weeks. It agreed that data relating to Northern Ireland Members recommended for redaction by the Parliamentary Security Coordinator should be removed, and that Members who left the House in 2005 should not be included in the publication.

5. OPERATIONAL ASSURANCE UNIT (Commission)

The Commission confirmed that it would proceed with establishing urgently an assurance unit, separate from the Department of Resources, and noted that Mr Speaker would determine what functions were taken on by the unit.

6. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Commission/MEC will take place at 5pm on Monday 8 June 2009 in Speaker's House.