Third Report of Session
2007-08 from the Procedure committee
The Intelligence and Security Committee
1. The Leader of the House and the Government
Chief Whip have put forward proposals regarding the membership
of the joint Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) and the
House's scrutiny of its work. These proposals follow the Government's
commitment in the Constitutional Renewal White Paper[1]
to take immediate steps "to improve the transparency and
effectiveness of the Committee's operation, in advance of any
future legislation".
2. The Leader and the Chief Whip have accordingly
proposed changes to the process for nominating the Lords Member
of the ISC, and a new approach to debating ISC reports. The Committee
supports their proposals, which are outlined below.
NOMINATING THE LORDS MEMBER OF THE ISC
3. The Intelligence Services Act 1994 ("the
Act") provides that the members of the ISC shall be appointed
by the Prime Minister, following consultation with the Leader
of the Opposition, and that their appointment shall be for the
duration of a Parliament. The Leader and Chief Whip propose that
in future the Usual Channels should agree on a member or members
to nominate, and that the Leader of the House would then seek
the approval of the House by tabling a motion in the following
terms:
"The Lord President (Baroness Royall of Blaisdon)
to move that this House approves the nomination of Lord/Baroness
[name] as a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee."
4. The final appointment would then formally
be made by the Prime Minister, in consultation with the Leader
of the Opposition, in accordance with the Act.
DEBATES ON ISC REPORTS
5. The Act requires that the ISC should make
an annual report to the Prime Minister, who in turn lays a copy
before each House. The ISC may also make special reports to the
Prime Minister on matters falling within their remit, and these
too are laid before Parliament.
6. At present these reports are debated only
in the House of Commons, on a motion proposed by a Government
minister. The White Paper proposes that in future reports should
be debated in both Houses, and that in the Lords this should be
on a motion proposed by the Lords member of the committee.
7. The Leader and the Chief Whip accordingly
propose that there should in future be a presumption that ISC
reports will be debated, subject to a decision of the Usual Channels
in each case; and that the presumption should be that annual reports
should be debated in Grand Committee and that special reports
should be debated either in Grand Committee or in the Chamber.
8. As with debates on reports of select committees,
debates on ISC reports would be on a neutral 'take note' motion;
they would be opened by the Lords member of the ISC, with a Minister
winding up. The Lords member of the ISC would have a right of
reply to the debate.
CONCLUSION
9. We recommend that the arrangements for
nominating the Lords membership of the joint Intelligence and
Security Committee and increasing the House's scrutiny of its
work, described in paragraphs 3-8 above, be agreed to.
1 See The Governance of Britain - Constitutional
Renewal, March 2008 (Cm 7342-I), pp 59-61. Back
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