Foreword
In this, my third report as Commissioner, I set out
the highlights of what has been another full year of effort by
the Committee on Standards and Privileges, colleagues in my office
and me to improve the confidence of both the public and Members
of the House in the effectiveness and fairness of the House's
arrangements for ensuring high standards of conduct among Members.[1]
Much of the year has revolved around the review of
the Code of Conduct for Members, on which the House is expected
to take decisions by the summer of 2005. A good deal of effort
has also gone into extensive preparations for briefing and induction
of Members and their staff in the new Parliament. In addition
there has been the usual ebb and flow of complaints cases, any
one of which can be infinitely more demanding and complex than
a simple recital of the number of cases handled would suggest,
as well as continued effort to offer Members, collectively and
individually, sound and helpful advice on standards matters.
Throughout this year, as during those which have
gone before, I have sought to adopt an approach which is strategic
and proportionate: strategic in the sense that it is proactive
and focuses on the key issues; proportionate in that both policy
matters and cases are handled in a manner appropriate to the intrinsic
weight of the issues at stake. It was therefore encouraging to
see Peter Riddell, Chief Political Commentator of the Times, say
in a review of the first ten years of existence of the Committee
on Standards in Public Life:
"The revamped system of Commons self-regulation
and disclosure is now operating pretty well. . ."[2]
Any success of this nature there may have been is
the result of concerted effort by the Committee on Standards and
Privileges, the authorities and senior officers as well as Members
of the House. To them and to my immediate colleagues in my office,
I express my warm thanks.
I am also conscious that public and Member confidence
is hard to win and easy to lose. Keeping it requires sustained
effort. I hope this report provides evidence of my firm commitment,
and that of my colleagues, to that task.
12 July 2005 Sir Philip Mawer
1 For the benefit of those less familiar with these
arrangements, I have included at Appendix 1 the Standing Orders
of the House relating to the Committee on Standards and Privileges
and to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and at Appendix
2 a short description of the arrangements. Back
2
Committee on Standards in Public Life; Annual Report, 2004 Back
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