Standing Orders of the House of Commons

House of Commons

Standing Orders of the House of Commons - Public Business 1997- continued

Standing Committee - continued

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Business sub-committees.     120. - (1) Whenever an order has been made by the House allocating time to the proceedings of a standing committee on any bill which has been allocated or committed to it, the order shall stand referred to that committee, and shall be considered by a sub-committee thereof to be called the business sub-committee.

    (2) A business sub-committee shall consist of the chairman or one of the chairmen of the committee (who shall be chairman of the sub-committee) and seven members of the committee, to be nominated by the Speaker as soon as may be after such an order has been made; the quorum of the sub-committee shall be four, of whom the chairman so nominated shall be one; and the sub-committee shall have power to report from time to time to the committee.

    (3) A sub-committee shall report to the committee its resolutions upon-

(a) the number of sittings to be allotted to the consideration of the bill;

(b) the allocation of the proceedings to each sitting; and

(c) the time at which any proceedings, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion.

    (4) All such resolutions shall be reported to the committee at the commencement of the next sitting of the committee and shall be recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of the committee.

    (5) Whenever a sub-committee has made a report to the committee, the Member in charge of the bill may forthwith move "That this committee do agree with the business sub-committee in its resolution (or resolutions)"; and the question on such a motion shall be put forthwith.

    (6) If the question is agreed to, the resolution (or resolutions) shall have effect as though included in the order aforesaid, but if it is negatived the resolution (or resolutions) shall stand re-committed to the business sub-committee.

Select Committees

Nomination of select committees     121. - (1) Any Member intending to propose that certain Members be members of a select committee, or be discharged from a select committee, shall give notice of the names of Members whom he intends so to propose, shall endeavour to ascertain previously whether each such Member will give his attendance on the committee, and shall endeavour to give notice to any Member whom he proposes to be discharged from the committee.

    (2) No motion shall be made for the nomination of members of select committees appointed under Standing Order No. 152 (Select committees related to government departments) or under Standing Order No. 142 (Domestic Committees), or for their discharge, unless-

(a) notice of the motion has been given at least two sitting days previously, and

(b) the motion is made on behalf of the Committee of Selection by the chairman or another member of the committee.

Lists of Members serving on select committees     122. Lists shall be fixed in some conspicuous place in the Committee Office and in the lobby of the House of all Members serving on each select committee.

Sittings of committees     123. All committees, other than committees of the whole House, shall have leave to sit at any time on any day on which the House sits, but may not otherwise sit during any adjournment of the House, without the leave of the House, and such leave shall not be moved for without notice.

Quorum of select committees     124. - (1) A select committee may not proceed to business unless a quorum be present; and if at any time during the sitting of a select committee a quorum shall not be present, the clerk of the committee shall bring this fact to the notice of the chairman, who shall thereupon suspend the proceedings of the committee until a quorum be present, or adjourn the committee.

    (2) In determining whether the requisite number of Members is present to form the quorum the chairman shall be counted.

Strangers (select committees)     125. - (1) A select committee shall have power, if it so orders, to admit strangers during the examination of witnesses.

    (2) A sub-committee appointed by such a select committee shall have a like power except as that committee otherwise orders.

Withdrawal of Members from meetings of select committees     126. - If any select committee, or sub-committee thereof, considers that the presence at a meeting, or part of a meeting, of that committee to which the public are not admitted of any specified Member of the House not nominated to that committee would obstruct the business of the committee, it shall have power to direct such Member to withdraw forthwith; and the Serjeant at Arms shall act on such instructions as he may receive from the chairman of the committee in pursuance of this order.

Withdrawal of documents before select committee     127. No document received by the clerk of a select committee shall be withdrawn or altered without the knowledge and approval of the committee.

Entry on minutes of proceedings of select committee     128. The names of the Members present at each sitting of a select committee and, if a division takes place, the name of the proposer of the motion or amendment, the question put, and the respective votes thereupon of the Members present shall be entered on the minutes of the proceedings of the committee.

Minutes of proceedings to be laid on the Table     129. The minutes of the proceedings of a select committee shall be laid on the Table of the House during the session to which they relate, unless the committee proposes to bring them up with a report in a following session of the same Parliament.

Entry on minutes of evidence of select committee     130. The names of Members present at each sitting of a select committee shall be entered on the minutes of evidence, if any.

Entry of questions asked     131. To every question or series of questions asked of a witness under examination in the proceedings of a select committee, and at the beginning of each page of the minutes of evidence, there shall be prefixed the name of the inquiring Member.

Administration of oath in select committee     132. Any oath taken or affirmation made by any witness before a select committee may be administered by the chairman, or by the clerk attending such committee.

Power to report opinion and observations     133. Every select committee shall have leave to report to the House its opinion and observations upon any matters referred to it for its consideration, together with the minutes of the evidence taken before it, and also to make a special report of any matters which it may think fit to bring to the notice of the House.

Select committees (reports)     134. All select committees shall have power to authorise the Clerk of the House to supply copies of their reports to officers of government departments, to such witnesses who have given evidence to committees or to their sub-committees as those committees consider appropriate, to lobby journalists, and to such other press representatives as the committee thinks fit, after those reports have been laid upon the Table but not more than forty-eight hours before the intended time of publication of such reports.

Witnesses and evidence (select committees)     135. - (1) All select committees having power to send for persons, papers and records shall have power to publish the names of persons who have appeared as witnesses before them, and to authorise the publication by the witnesses concerned or otherwise of memoranda of evidence submitted by them.

    (2) The Speaker shall have power to authorise such publication in the case of any such select committee which is no longer in existence.

Publication of evidence (select committees)     136. When evidence has been given before a select committee meeting in public, no complaint of privilege will be entertained on the ground that it has been published before having been reported to the House.

Select committees (adjournment of the House)     137. Whenever the House stands adjourned for more than two days, and any select committee having power to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House shall have agreed to a report, or shall have resolved that its minutes of proceedings should be printed or that the minutes of evidence taken before it or before any sub-committee appointed by it or any papers laid before it should be reported to the House and printed, it shall have power to direct the printing of such report, minutes or papers, and such printing shall be under the authority of the House; and any such reports, minutes or papers shall be deemed to have been reported to the House and shall be laid upon the Table when the House next sits.

Members (attendance at Lords select committees)     138. Any Member requested by a committee appointed by the Lords to attend as a witness before it or before any sub-committee appointed by it shall have the leave of this House so to attend, if the Member think fit.

Select Committee on Broadcasting     139. - (1) There shall be a select committee with power to give directions and to perform other duties, relating to the broadcasting of proceedings of the House and matters ancillary thereto.

    (2) The committee shall consist of eleven Members, and the quorum shall be three.

    (3) The committee shall have powers-

(a) to send for persons, papers and records, to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House, to adjourn from place to place, and to report from time to time;

(b) to appoint specialist advisers either to supply information which is not readily available or to elucidate matters of complexity within the committee's order of reference;

(c) to communicate to any committee appointed under Standing Order No. 142 (Domestic Committees), or to the Finance and Services Committee appointed under Standing Order No. 144, or to the House of Commons Commission, its evidence and any other documents relating to matters of common interest; and

(d) to meet concurrently with any committee appointed under Standing Order No. 142 (Domestic Committees), or with the Finance and Services Committee, for the purposes of deliberating or taking evidence.

    (4) The committee shall have leave to meet concurrently with any committee of the Lords on broadcasting, for the purpose of deliberating or taking evidence, and to communicate to any such committee its evidence or any other documents relating to matters of common interest.

    (5) The committee shall have power to make recommendations to the House of Commons Commission or to the Speaker; but any such recommendation whose implementation would incur additional expenditure from the Votes for House of Commons (Administration) or (Works) shall also be considered by the Finance and Services Committee.

    (6) The committee shall have power to make rules and give directions to Officers of the House in respect only of such administrative matters as may from time to time be determined by the Speaker or by the House of Commons Commission.

    (7) Unless the House otherwise orders, all Members nominated to the committee shall continue to be members of the committee for the remainder of the Parliament.

Joint Committee on Consolidation, &c., Bills     140. - (1) There shall be a select committee, to consist of twelve Members, to join with the committee appointed by the Lords as the Joint Committee on Consolidation, &c., Bills to consider-

(a) consolidation bills, whether public or private;

(b) Statute Law Revision Bills;

(c) bills prepared pursuant to the Consolidation of Enactments (Procedure) Act 1949, together with any memoranda laid pursuant to that Act and any representations made with respect thereto;

(d) bills to consolidate any enactments with amendments to give effect to recommendations made by one or both of the Law Commissions, together with any report containing such recommendations;

(e) bills prepared by one or both of the Law Commissions to promote the reform of the statute law by the repeal, in accordance with Law Commission recommendations, of certain enactments which (except in so far as their effect is preserved) are no longer of practical utility, whether or not they make other provision in connection with the repeal of those enactments, together with any Law Commission report on any such bill; and

(f) any Order in Council laid or laid in draft before the House where an affirmative resolution is required before it is made, or is a condition of its continuance in operation, and which but for the provisions of the Northern Ireland Act 1974 would, in the opinion of the committee, have been enacted by a consolidation bill, whether public or private, or by a Statute Law Revision Bill.

    (2) The committee shall have power to send for persons, papers and records; and to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House.

    (3) Two shall be the quorum of the committee.

    (4) Unless the House otherwise orders, each Member nominated to the committee shall continue to be a member of it for the remainder of the Parliament.

Standing Orders of the House of Commons - Public Business 1997- continued
Standing Committee - continued
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Business sub-committees.	120. - (1) Whenever an order has been made by the House allocating time to the proceedings of a standing committee on any bill which has been allocated or committed to it, the order shall stand referred to that committee, and shall be considered by a sub-committee thereof to be called the business sub-committee.
	(2) A business sub-committee shall consist of the chairman or one of the chairmen of the committee (who shall be chairman of the sub-committee) and seven members of the committee, to be nominated by the Speaker as soon as may be after such an order has been made; the quorum of the sub-committee shall be four, of whom the chairman so nominated shall be one; and the sub-committee shall have power to report from time to time to the committee.
	(3) A sub-committee shall report to the committee its resolutions upon-
	(a) the number of sittings to be allotted to the consideration of the bill;
	(b) the allocation of the proceedings to each sitting; and
	(c) the time at which any proceedings, if not previously concluded, shall be brought to a conclusion.
	(4) All such resolutions shall be reported to the committee at the commencement of the next sitting of the committee and shall be recorded in the minutes of the proceedings of the committee.
	(5) Whenever a sub-committee has made a report to the committee, the Member in charge of the bill may forthwith move "That this committee do agree with the business sub-committee in its resolution (or resolutions)"; and the question on such a motion shall be put forthwith.
	(6) If the question is agreed to, the resolution (or resolutions) shall have effect as though included in the order aforesaid, but if it is negatived the resolution (or resolutions) shall stand re-committed to the business sub-committee.
	Select Committees
Nomination of select committees	121. - (1) Any Member intending to propose that certain Members be members of a select committee, or be discharged from a select committee, shall give notice of the names of Members whom he intends so to propose, shall endeavour to ascertain previously whether each such Member will give his attendance on the committee, and shall endeavour to give notice to any Member whom he proposes to be discharged from the committee.
	(2) No motion shall be made for the nomination of members of select committees appointed under Standing Order No. 152 (Select committees related to government departments) or under Standing Order No. 142 (Domestic Committees), or for their discharge, unless-
	(a) notice of the motion has been given at least two sitting days previously, and
	(b) the motion is made on behalf of the Committee of Selection by the chairman or another member of the committee.
Lists of Members serving on select committees	122. Lists shall be fixed in some conspicuous place in the Committee Office and in the lobby of the House of all Members serving on each select committee.
Sittings of committees	123. All committees, other than committees of the whole House, shall have leave to sit at any time on any day on which the House sits, but may not otherwise sit during any adjournment of the House, without the leave of the House, and such leave shall not be moved for without notice.
Quorum of select committees	124. - (1) A select committee may not proceed to business unless a quorum be present; and if at any time during the sitting of a select committee a quorum shall not be present, the clerk of the committee shall bring this fact to the notice of the chairman, who shall thereupon suspend the proceedings of the committee until a quorum be present, or adjourn the committee.
	(2) In determining whether the requisite number of Members is present to form the quorum the chairman shall be counted.
Strangers (select committees)	125. - (1) A select committee shall have power, if it so orders, to admit strangers during the examination of witnesses.
	(2) A sub-committee appointed by such a select committee shall have a like power except as that committee otherwise orders.
Withdrawal of Members from meetings of select committees	126. - If any select committee, or sub-committee thereof, considers that the presence at a meeting, or part of a meeting, of that committee to which the public are not admitted of any specified Member of the House not nominated to that committee would obstruct the business of the committee, it shall have power to direct such Member to withdraw forthwith; and the Serjeant at Arms shall act on such instructions as he may receive from the chairman of the committee in pursuance of this order.
Withdrawal of documents before select committee	127. No document received by the clerk of a select committee shall be withdrawn or altered without the knowledge and approval of the committee.
Entry on minutes of proceedings of select committee	128. The names of the Members present at each sitting of a select committee and, if a division takes place, the name of the proposer of the motion or amendment, the question put, and the respective votes thereupon of the Members present shall be entered on the minutes of the proceedings of the committee.
Minutes of proceedings to be laid on the Table	129. The minutes of the proceedings of a select committee shall be laid on the Table of the House during the session to which they relate, unless the committee proposes to bring them up with a report in a following session of the same Parliament.
Entry on minutes of evidence of select committee	130. The names of Members present at each sitting of a select committee shall be entered on the minutes of evidence, if any.
Entry of questions asked	131. To every question or series of questions asked of a witness under examination in the proceedings of a select committee, and at the beginning of each page of the minutes of evidence, there shall be prefixed the name of the inquiring Member.
Administration of oath in select committee	132. Any oath taken or affirmation made by any witness before a select committee may be administered by the chairman, or by the clerk attending such committee.
Power to report opinion and observations	133. Every select committee shall have leave to report to the House its opinion and observations upon any matters referred to it for its consideration, together with the minutes of the evidence taken before it, and also to make a special report of any matters which it may think fit to bring to the notice of the House.
Select committees (reports)	134. All select committees shall have power to authorise the Clerk of the House to supply copies of their reports to officers of government departments, to such witnesses who have given evidence to committees or to their sub-committees as those committees consider appropriate, to lobby journalists, and to such other press representatives as the committee thinks fit, after those reports have been laid upon the Table but not more than forty-eight hours before the intended time of publication of such reports.
Witnesses and evidence (select committees)	135. - (1) All select committees having power to send for persons, papers and records shall have power to publish the names of persons who have appeared as witnesses before them, and to authorise the publication by the witnesses concerned or otherwise of memoranda of evidence submitted by them.
	(2) The Speaker shall have power to authorise such publication in the case of any such select committee which is no longer in existence.
Publication of evidence (select committees)	136. When evidence has been given before a select committee meeting in public, no complaint of privilege will be entertained on the ground that it has been published before having been reported to the House.
Select committees (adjournment of the House)	137. Whenever the House stands adjourned for more than two days, and any select committee having power to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House shall have agreed to a report, or shall have resolved that its minutes of proceedings should be printed or that the minutes of evidence taken before it or before any sub-committee appointed by it or any papers laid before it should be reported to the House and printed, it shall have power to direct the printing of such report, minutes or papers, and such printing shall be under the authority of the House; and any such reports, minutes or papers shall be deemed to have been reported to the House and shall be laid upon the Table when the House next sits.
Members (attendance at Lords select committees)	138. Any Member requested by a committee appointed by the Lords to attend as a witness before it or before any sub-committee appointed by it shall have the leave of this House so to attend, if the Member think fit.
Select Committee on Broadcasting	139. - (1) There shall be a select committee with power to give directions and to perform other duties, relating to the broadcasting of proceedings of the House and matters ancillary thereto.
	(2) The committee shall consist of eleven Members, and the quorum shall be three.
	(3) The committee shall have powers-
	(a) to send for persons, papers and records, to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House, to adjourn from place to place, and to report from time to time;
	(b) to appoint specialist advisers either to supply information which is not readily available or to elucidate matters of complexity within the committee's order of reference;
	(c) to communicate to any committee appointed under Standing Order No. 142 (Domestic Committees), or to the Finance and Services Committee appointed under Standing Order No. 144, or to the House of Commons Commission, its evidence and any other documents relating to matters of common interest; and
	(d) to meet concurrently with any committee appointed under Standing Order No. 142 (Domestic Committees), or with the Finance and Services Committee, for the purposes of deliberating or taking evidence.
	(4) The committee shall have leave to meet concurrently with any committee of the Lords on broadcasting, for the purpose of deliberating or taking evidence, and to communicate to any such committee its evidence or any other documents relating to matters of common interest.
	(5) The committee shall have power to make recommendations to the House of Commons Commission or to the Speaker; but any such recommendation whose implementation would incur additional expenditure from the Votes for House of Commons (Administration) or (Works) shall also be considered by the Finance and Services Committee.
	(6) The committee shall have power to make rules and give directions to Officers of the House in respect only of such administrative matters as may from time to time be determined by the Speaker or by the House of Commons Commission.
	(7) Unless the House otherwise orders, all Members nominated to the committee shall continue to be members of the committee for the remainder of the Parliament.
Joint Committee on Consolidation, &c., Bills	140. - (1) There shall be a select committee, to consist of twelve Members, to join with the committee appointed by the Lords as the Joint Committee on Consolidation, &c., Bills to consider-
	(a) consolidation bills, whether public or private;
	(b) Statute Law Revision Bills;
	(c) bills prepared pursuant to the Consolidation of Enactments (Procedure) Act 1949, together with any memoranda laid pursuant to that Act and any representations made with respect thereto;
	(d) bills to consolidate any enactments with amendments to give effect to recommendations made by one or both of the Law Commissions, together with any report containing such recommendations;
	(e) bills prepared by one or both of the Law Commissions to promote the reform of the statute law by the repeal, in accordance with Law Commission recommendations, of certain enactments which (except in so far as their effect is preserved) are no longer of practical utility, whether or not they make other provision in connection with the repeal of those enactments, together with any Law Commission report on any such bill; and
	(f) any Order in Council laid or laid in draft before the House where an affirmative resolution is required before it is made, or is a condition of its continuance in operation, and which but for the provisions of the Northern Ireland Act 1974 would, in the opinion of the committee, have been enacted by a consolidation bill, whether public or private, or by a Statute Law Revision Bill.
	(2) The committee shall have power to send for persons, papers and records; and to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House.
	(3) Two shall be the quorum of the committee.
	(4) Unless the House otherwise orders, each Member nominated to the committee shall continue to be a member of it for the remainder of the Parliament.