FORMAL MINUTES
Thursday 12 November 2009
Members present:
Dr Tony Wright, in the Chair
Mr Graham Allen
Mr Peter Atkinson
Mr Clive Betts
Mr Graham Brady
Mr David Clelland
Mr David Drew
Natascha Engel
Dr Evan Harris
| | David Howarth
Mr Greg Knight
Mr Chris Mullin
Dr Nick Palmer
Martin Salter
Dr Phyllis Starkey
Mr Andrew Tyrie
|
Draft Report proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.
Draft Report proposed by Natascha Engel, brought up and read as
follows—
"1. The Select Committee on Reform of the House of Commons
was instigated by the Prime Minister in response to a suggestion
from Dr Tony Wright MP, Chair of the Public Administration Committee.
Its ambit as envisaged by the Prime Minister was to look at
- making Select Committee processes more democratic;
- scheduling more and better time for non-Government business
in the House; and
- enabling the public to initiate directly some issues for debate.
2. The remit of the Committee was subsequently widened to include
scheduling time for all business in the House, and refined to
cover the appointment of members and chairs of select committees.
3. The Committee was directed to report to the House on these
matters by Friday 13 November 2009.
4. After much detailed discussion on the three matters referred
to us as well as some closely connected matters, we have been
unable to come to agreement. We therefore recommend that the
matters be remitted to a new committee in the next Parliament
to continue our detailed investigation and analysis.
5. We looked at different options for democratising the process
of nominating Chairs and members of Select Committees. The Committee
was divided on whether those elections should be by the whole
House or within party groups, and did not come to a satisfactory
conclusion. We therefore believe that a new committee in a
new Parliament should explore this further and make a decision.
6. We examined the prospects for setting up a Backbench Business
Committee to decide on the better use of backbench time in the
House, as well as options for a House Business Committee which
comprised members of the Backbench Business Committee as well
as party managers. The Committee was divided on the matter of
a House Business Committee, some believing it to be the answer
to 'wresting control' from Ministers, whilst others believed that
this was merely an exercise in moving the deckchairs: to paraphrase
Professor Vernon Bogdanor, some members of the Committee believed
that we were in danger of shifting the balance of power from one
democratically and directly elected elite (the Executive) to a
less directly accountable and less expert elite (backbenchers).
We therefore recommend that we continue with the current system
and explore more widely in the next Parliament options for better
scrutiny of legislation and accountability of Ministers.
7. We examined how best to encourage greater public engagement
in the activities of Parliament. Whilst the Committee was unanimous
in its support for widening participation in our democratic processes
with e-petitions and exploring the possibilities for 'agenda initiatives',
we felt too restricted by its remit to be able to do justice to
this important question. We would like a future Parliament to
look at the wider role of Parliament and Members of Parliament;
and to start an open and honest debate about what it is that Members
of Parliament do and how the constituents that we represent can
better influence our work and decisions.
8. Our deliberations were informed by submissions from members
of the public, from interested and expert individuals and organisations,
from Members of Parliament and constitutional academics. We would
like this evidence to be made available to the new Parliament
so that our work can inform the debate of a new generation of
Members of Parliament, rather than tie their hands with decisions
we make today before they have even started."
Motion made, and Question proposed, That the Chairman's draft
Report be read a second time, paragraph by paragraph.—(The
Chairman.)
Amendment proposed, to leave out "Chairman's draft Report"
and insert "draft Report proposed by Natascha Engel".—(Mr
Peter Atkinson.)
Question put, That the Amendment be made.
The Committee divided.
| Ayes, 2 | |
Noes, 10 |
Mr Peter Atkinson
Natascha Engel
| | Mr Graham Allen
Mr Clive Betts
Mr Graham Brady
Mr David Clelland
Mr David Drew
Dr Evan Harris
David Howarth
Mr Greg Knight
Mr Chris Mullin
Martin Salter
|
Main Question put and agreed to.
Ordered, That the Chairman's draft Report be read a second
time, paragraph by paragraph.
Paragraphs 1 to 56 read and agreed to.
Amendment proposed, to leave out paragraphs 57 to 59.—(Dr
Phyllis Starkey)
Question, That the Amendment be made, put and negatived.
Paragraphs 57 to 73 read and agreed to.
Paragraph 74 read.
Amendment proposed, in line 12, to leave out the word "House-wide".—(Dr
Phyllis Starkey)
Question put, That the Amendment be made.
The Committee divided.
| Ayes, 4 | |
Noes, 10 |
Mr Clive Betts
Mr David Clelland
Natascha Engel
Dr Phyllis Starkey
| | Mr Graham Allen
Mr Peter Atkinson
Mr Graham Brady
Mr David Drew
Dr Evan Harris
David Howarth
Mr Greg Knight
Mr Chris Mullin
Dr Nick Palmer
Martin Salter
|
Paragraph agreed to.
Paragraphs 75 to 195 read and agreed to.
Amendment proposed, to leave out paragraphs 196 to 205.—(Natascha
Engel)
Question put, That the Amendment be made.
The Committee divided.
| Ayes, 3 | |
Noes, 10 |
Mr Peter Atkinson
Mr David Clelland
Natascha Engel
| | Mr Graham Allen
Mr Clive Betts
Mr Graham Brady
Mr David Drew
Dr Evan Harris
David Howarth
Mr Chris Mullin
Dr Nick Palmer
Martin Salter
Dr Phyllis Starkey
|
Paragraphs 196 to 293 read and agreed to.
Annex agreed to.
Summary agreed to.
Resolved, That the Report be the First Report of the Committee
to the House.
Ordered, That the Chairman make the Report to the House.
Ordered, That embargoed copies of the Report be made available,
in accordance with the provisions of Standing Order No. 134.
Written evidence was ordered to be reported to the House for printing
with the Report
Written evidence was ordered to be reported to the House for placing
in the Library and Parliamentary Archives.
[Adjourned to a date and time to be determined.
| 
