House of Commons

Publications on the internet

Standing Orders of the House of Commons - Public Business 1997- continued
Select Committees - continued
back to previous text
 
Deregulation Committee     141. - (1) There shall be a select committee, called the Deregulation Committee, to examine every document containing proposals laid before the House under section 3, and every draft order proposed to be made under section 1, of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994.
 
      (2) The committee shall report to the House, in relation to every document containing proposals laid before the House under the said section 3, either
 
 
    (a) that a draft order in the same terms as the proposals should be laid before the House; or
 
    (b) that the proposals should be amended before a draft order is laid before the House; or
 
    (c) that the order-making power should not be used in respect of the proposals.
      (3) The committee shall report to the House, in relation to every draft order laid before the House under the said section 1, its recommendation whether the draft order should be approved.
 
      (4) The committee may report to the House on any matter arising from consideration of the said proposals or draft orders.
 
      (5)(A) In its consideration of proposals the committee shall consider in each case whether the proposals
 
 
    (a) appear to make an inappropriate use of delegated legislation;
 
    (b) remove or reduce a burden or the authorisation or requirement of a burden;
 
    (c) continue any necessary protection;
 
    (d) have been the subject of, and take appropriate account of, adequate consultation;
 
    (e) impose a charge on the public revenues or contain provisions requiring payments to be made to the Exchequer or any government department or to any local or public authority in consideration of any licence or consent or of any services to be rendered, or prescribe the amount of any such charge or payment;
 
    (f) purport to have retrospective effect;
 
    (g) give rise to doubts whether they are intra vires;
 
    (h) require elucidation or appear to be defectively drafted;
 
    (i) appear to be incompatible with any obligation resulting from membership of the European Union.
      (B) In its consideration of draft orders, the committee shall consider in each case all the matters set out in sub-paragraph (A) above and the extent to which the Minister concerned has had regard to any resolution or report of the Committee or to any other representations made during the period for parliamentary consideration.
 
      (6) The committee shall consist of eighteen members.
 
      (7) The quorum of the committee shall be five.
 
      (8) 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.
 
      (9) The committee shall have power-
 
 
    (a) to send for persons, papers and records, to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House, to adjourn from place to place within the United Kingdom, 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 appoint a sub-committee, of which the quorum shall be two, which shall have power to send for persons, papers and records, to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House, and to adjourn from place to place within the United Kingdom;
 
    (d) to communicate its evidence and any other documents relating to matters of common interest to any committee appointed by this House and to any committee appointed by the Lords to examine deregulation proposals and draft orders.
      (10) The committee and the sub-committee shall have leave to meet concurrently with any select committee appointed by the Lords to examine deregulation proposals and draft orders and any sub-committee thereof.
 
      (11) The committee and the sub-committee shall have the assistance of the Counsel to the Speaker and, if their Lordships think fit, the Counsel to the Lord Chairman of Committees.
 
      (12) The committee and the sub-committee shall have power to invite Members of the House who are not members of the committee to attend meetings at which witnesses are being examined and such Members may, at the discretion of the chairman, ask questions of those witnesses; but no Member not being of the committee shall otherwise take part in the proceedings of the committee or sub-committee, or be counted in the quorum.
 
      (13) It shall be an instruction to the committee that before reporting either
 
 
    (a) that any proposal should be amended before a draft order is laid before the House, or
 
    (b) that the order-making power should not be used in respect of any proposal, or
 
    (c) that any draft order should not be approved,
  it shall afford to any government department concerned an opportunity of furnishing orally or in writing to it or to the sub-committee appointed by it such explanations as the department think fit.
 
      (14) It shall be an instruction to the committee that it report on every draft order not more than fifteen sitting days after the draft order was laid before the House, indicating in the case of draft orders which it recommends should be approved whether its recommendation was agreed without a division.
 
Domestic Committees     142. - (1) There shall be four select committees to consider the services provided for the House in regard to the following matters:

    1. Accommodation and Works

    2. Administration

    3. Catering

    4. Information.
     

      (2) Each committee appointed under this order shall consist of seven Members, and the quorum shall be three.
 
      (3) Each committee appointed under this order shall have the assistance of the Officers of the House appropriate to the matters under consideration.
 
      (4) Each committee appointed under this order shall have power-
 
 
    (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 other such committee, or to the Finance and Services Committee appointed under Standing Order No. 144, or to the Broadcasting Committee appointed under Standing Order No. 139, 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 other such committee, or with the Finance and Services Committee, or with the Broadcasting Committee, for the purpose of deliberating or taking evidence.
      (5) Each committee appointed under this order shall have leave to meet concurrently with any committee of the Lords on House of Lords Offices or any sub-committee of that committee, for the purpose of deliberating or taking evidence, and to communicate to any such committee or sub-committee its evidence or any other documents relating to matters of common interest.
 
      (6) Each committee appointed under this order 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.
 
      (7) Each committee appointed under this order 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.
 
      (8) Unless the House otherwise orders, all Members nominated to a committee appointed under this order shall continue to be members of that committee for the remainder of the Parliament.
 
Select Committee on European Legislation     143. - (1) There shall be a select committee, to be called the Select Committee on European Legislation, to examine European Community documents and-
 
 
    (a) to report its opinion on the legal and political importance of each such document and, where it considers appropriate, to report also on the reasons for its opinion and on any matters of principle, policy or law which may be affected;
 
    (b) to make recommendations for the further consideration of any such document pursuant to Standing Order No. 119 (European Standing Committees); and
 
    (c) to consider any issue arising upon any such document or group of documents.
     
      The expression "European Community documents" in this Order and in Standing Orders No. 16 (Proceedings under an Act or on European Community documents), No. 89 (Procedure in standing committees) and No. 119 (European Standing Committees) means-
 
      (i) any proposal under the Community Treaties for legislation by the Council of Ministers;
 
      (ii) any document which is published for submission to the European Council or the Council of Ministers;
 
      (iii) any document (not falling within (ii) above) which is published by one Community institution for or with a view to submission to another Community institution and which does not relate exclusively to consideration of any proposal for legislation;
 
      (iv) any other document relating to European Community matters deposited in the House by a Minister of the Crown.
      (2) The committee shall consist of sixteen Members.
 
      (3) The committee and any sub-committee appointed by it shall have the assistance of the Counsel to the Speaker.
 
      (4) The committee shall have the power to appoint specialist advisers for the purpose of particular inquiries, either to supply information which is not readily available or to elucidate matters of complexity within the committee's order of reference.
 
      (5) The committee shall have power 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.
 
      (6) The quorum of the committee shall be five.
 
      (7) The committee shall have power to appoint sub-committees and to refer to such sub-committees any of the matters referred to the committee.
 
      (8) Every such sub-committee shall have power to send for persons, papers and records, to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House, to adjourn from place to place, and to report to the committee from time to time.
 
      (9) The committee shall have power to report from time to time the minutes of evidence taken before such sub-committees.
 
      (10) The quorum of every such sub-committee shall be two.
 
      (11) The committee or any sub-committee appointed by it shall have leave to confer and to meet concurrently with any committee of the Lords on the European Communities or any sub-committee of that committee for the purposes of deliberating and of examining witnesses.
 
      (12) 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.
 
Finance and Services Committee     144. - (1) There shall be a select committee, to be called the Finance and Services Committee, to consider expenditure on and the administration of services for the House and-
 
 
    (a) with the assistance of the Board of Management, to prepare the Estimates for the Votes for House of Commons (Administration) and (Works) for submission to the House of Commons Commission;
 
    (b) to monitor the financial performance of the Departments of the House; and
 
    (c) to report to the House of Commons Commission or the Speaker on the financial and administrative implications of recommendations made to them by any of the committees appointed under Standing Orders No. 142 (Domestic Committees) or No. 139 (Select Committee on Broadcasting).
      (2) The committee shall consist of not more than nine Members, and the quorum shall be three.
 
      (3) The committee shall be assisted by the Accounting Officer and by other Officers of the House appropriate to the matters under consideration.
 
      (4) The committee shall have power-
 
 
    (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 communicate to any committee appointed under Standing Orders No. 142 (Domestic Committees) and No. 139 (Select Committee on Broadcasting), or to the House of Commons Commission, its evidence or any other documents relating to matters of common interest; and
 
    (c) to meet concurrently with any committee appointed under Standing Orders No. 142 (Domestic Committees) or No. 139 (Select Committee on Broadcasting), for the purpose of deliberating or taking evidence.
      (5) The committee shall have leave to meet concurrently with any committee of the Lords on House of Lords Offices or any sub-committee of that committee, for the purpose of deliberating or taking evidence, and to communicate to any such committee or sub-committee its evidence or any other documents relating to matters of common interest.
 
      (6) 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.
 
 


 
 

 
previous contents next

© Parliamentary copyright 1997
Prepared 6 May 1997