New briefing on House of Commons reform - June 15, 2009

The Hansard Society published a briefing paper for reform of the House of Commons drawing on 20 years of research work and recommendations to strengthen Parliament. The blueprint was published to coincide with the first ever Speaker Hustings held in public view, and before the media, hosted by the Hansard Society. It can be downloaded for free here

Among the blueprint proposals recommended by the Hansard Society are:

• A Business Committee for the House of Commons to put control of the parliamentary timetable in the hands of a cross party body of MPs rather than leaving it in the control of the executive.
• A Parliamentary Finance Office, modelled on the US Government Accounting Office, would provide individual MPs with independent expertise and advice on financial matters, empowering them to better scrutinise public spending and taxation proposals.
• A shift towards a committee based culture in the House of Commons with the main chamber taking on a plenary focus. Select committee chairs and members should be elected by MPs not party whips, the work of committees should be better integrated into wider parliamentary activity and more time should be set aside for the detailed work that committees undertake.
• A system of e-Petitions, managed through a new Petitions Committee, to help revitalise public engagement with Parliament. Hansard Society research shows that the public are more likely to sign a petition than to engage in any other form of democratic activity. This has to be properly integrated into parliamentary procedures.
• The appointment of a Chief Executive to professionalise the organisation and operation of the House of Commons. At present the House is managed by the Clerk of the House. Clerks are expert professional advisers on constitutional and procedural issues. They are not experts in management, budgets, human resources and logistics. A Chief Executive should take on these responsibilities.