7 Review and Forward Look
7.1 In the final section of this, my last report
to the House as Commissioner, I review some of the progress made
over the last five years and look ahead to some of the challenges
that will face my successor.
7.2 The period since 2002 has seen a considerable
strengthening of the machinery for regulating standards in the
House. In particular, as a result of decisions by the House following
recommendations in the Eighth Report of the Committee on Standards
in Public Life:[44]
- the membership of the Committee
on Standards and Privileges is now evenly drawn from Government
and Opposition parties
- a convention has been established that the chairman
will be a senior Opposition backbencher
- Parliamentary Private Secretaries are no longer
among the members of the Committee.
My successor will hold office for a five year, non-renewable
term (and thus need not be concerned about whether or not their
appointment will be renewed), following appointment by a resolution
of the House, and may only be dismissed following such a resolution
pursuant to a report by the Committee on Standards and Privileges.
7.3 The Code of Conduct has been reviewed and made
more accessible. The Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct
of Members has also been reviewed, with a view to simplifying
and clarifying it, for the benefit of Members and the public.
The Register of Members' Interests is now updated and published
much more frequently.
7.4 The rules relating to the registration of All-Party
Groups have been reviewed, with the aim of increasing openness
and accountability. In spite of an increase in the number of such
groups from 356 on 31 March 2003 to 500 on the same date 4 years
later, and of an increase in the number of staff on the Register
of Members' Secretaries and Research Assistants over the same
period from 1456 to 1612, the relevant Registers of Interests
(and that relating to Parliamentary journalists) continue to be
published smoothly.
7.5 The procedures applying to the investigation
of complaints have been codified and published, as have policies
on the disclosure of information about the handling of complaints
against MPs and the handling of frivolous or vexatious complaints.
Guidance on avoiding conflicts of interest has been prepared for
Chairmen and Members of Select Committees. Advice packs supplemented
by occasional guidance notes have been issued to all Members.
Briefing has been provided systematically for Members, both following
general elections and after significant changes in the Rules,
and is also regularly provided for Members' staff on induction.
7.6 The misuse of facilities and resources provided
by the House has been brought within the scope of the Code. The
'rectification' procedure has been developed to allow for the
proportionate resolution of more minor cases. The complaints arrangements
have demonstrated their capacity to cope flexibly with cases of
widely varying complexity. Procedures have also been developed
for handling complaints of alleged breaches of the rules relating
to the 'other' Registers.
7.7 The Committee on Standards and Privileges and
I have sought to be proactive in identifying areas of risk to
the reputation of the House. Thus the Committee has in its reports
recommended improvements in the House's arrangements relating
to such matters as Members' allowances, publications funded from
the allowances, the use of House stationery, and the use of offices
and dining facilities in the House. In all of these areas, the
Committee can only suggest or recommend: the responsibility for
advising the House or for making decisions rests with others.
Nonetheless, as a result of recommendations by the Committee following
reports I have made, improvements have come about in all these
areas.
7.8 There remains scope for further improvement in
a number of respects. Helping to achieve the necessary progress
is one of the challenges which will face my successor. He or she
will also have to see through the implementation of whatever decisions
the House makes on the review of the Guide to the Rules and the
implementation of the one-stop registration shop for Members and
on the strengthening of the rules relating to All-Party Groups.
7.9 Beyond these immediate challenges lie the deeper
ones of:
- building the credibility of
the House's standards arrangements in the eyes of both the public
and Members
- striking the right balance between necessary
regulation and proper accountability on the one hand, and not
tying people up with useless and frustrating red-tape on the other
- promoting openness about systems and processes,
while preserving an appropriate degree of confidentiality about
the handling of individual cases
- making difficult judgements with important consequences
for individuals in circumstances which are rarely clear-cut.
7.10 It has been a privilege to have wrestled with
those challenges over what, by the time I step down, will have
been almost six years of service as Commissioner to the House
and to the public. I wish my successor well; acknowledge that
anything I may have contributed has been built on the contributions
of my predecessors; and confirm the enormous debt I owe to all
those, inside and outside the House, who have helped me in this
demanding but, I believe, worthwhile task.
| October 2007 |
Sir Philip Mawer |
44 Cm 5663 Back
| 
