The House of Commons Commission
The Commission is the overall supervisory body of
the House of Commons Administration. It prepares and lays before
the House the Estimates for the House of Commons Service; it decides
most matters of policy; and it appoints staff of the House, and
determines their pay, pensions and other conditions of service.
The Commission may increase or reduce the number of House Departments
and allocate functions to any House Department.
The Commission was established by the House of Commons
(Administration) Act 1978, which provides that the Commission
should have six members: the Speaker as Chairman; the Leader of
the House; a Member of the House nominated by the Leader of the
Opposition (normally the Official Opposition's Shadow Leader of
the House); and three other Members appointed by the House, none
of whom may be a Minister. One member of the Commission acts as
its spokesman in the House (for example in answering Parliamentary
Questions).
Membership
The Speaker, Rt Hon John Bercow MP (Buckingham)
Sir Stuart Bell MP (Labour, Middlesbrough)
Rt Hon Harriet Harman MP, Leader of the House (Labour,
Camberwell & Peckham)
Nick Harvey MP (Liberal Democrat, North Devon)
Rt Hon David Maclean MP (Conservative, Penrith
& The Border)
Rt Hon Sir George Young MP, Shadow Leader of the
House (Conservative, North West Hampshire)
Powers
The powers of the Commission are set out in the House
of Commons (Administration) Act 1978 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm197879/cmacts/036/19780036.htm
Publications
The Reports of the Commission are published by The
Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the
Commission are on the Internet and can be accessed via www.parliament.uk/about_commons/house_of_commons_commission_.cfm
Staff
The staff of the Commission are Dorian Gerhold (Secretary),
Robert Cope (Assistant Secretary) and Louise Sargent (Assistant).
Contacts
All correspondence should be addressed to the Secretary
of the House of Commons Commission, Committee Office (Palace of
Westminster), House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. The telephone
number for general enquiries is 020 7219 3299; the Committee's
email address is hoccommission@parliament.uk
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