Memorandum submitted by David Amess MP
The appointment of Members and chairmen of select
committees: the attempts by the Government to certainly remove
at least two select committee chairmen because they were not running
the committees to their liking was totally inappropriate and should
not be allowed to happen again. I am not sure that arrangements
for the House to choose Members is very practical, I would hope
common sense and decency would prevail. The important point is
that select committees should have some independence guaranteed
and that their power to scrutinise the executive should be uninhibited.
(ii) I myself am not convinced about having
a beauty contest for the appointment of Chairman and Deputy Chairman
of Ways and Means. It seems to me that the Speaker and his three
deputies at the time of appointment should reflect the balance
of the House's composition so that parties themselves decide on
who the candidates should be.
(iii) The scheduling of business in the
House has become increasingly haphazard. Greater notice and care
should be taken in terms of scheduling business. Within that area
the guillotine procedure should be used more sparingly than it
is at the moment.
(iv) Enabling the public to initiate debates
and proceedings in the House and closely connected matters: I
think this is a ridiculous proposal and totally unworkable. The
House of Commons and its Members should be well aware of how the
public feel on any number of issues and should act accordingly.
September 2009
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