The Commons Select Committee on Standards is appointed by the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
to oversee the work of the
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards.
The current commissioner is Daniel Greenberg.
Duties
The commissio ...
.
History
The committee was created on 13 December 2012 as one half of the replacements for the
Committee on Standards and Privileges. Following the
expenses scandal, it was considered desirable for lay members to provide oversight of standards of conduct of MPs, but it was not considered proper for individuals who were not members of parliament to make decisions on
parliamentary privilege
Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties ...
. The Standards and Privileges Committee was therefore split in two, with MPs (including the chair) by convention being elected to serve on both committees simultaneously, but with an additional cohort of lay members sitting on the Standards Committee.
In 2020 the new
Independent Expert Panel took over the select committee's responsibility for cases involving bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct by MPs.
In the wake of the
Owen Paterson
Owen William Paterson (born 24 June 1956) is a British former politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2010 to 2012 and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2012 to 2014 under Prime Minist ...
affair in November 2021, the Conservative government proposed removing the lay members entirely, which would leave the Conservatives with a majority of control on a newly re-constituted committee. MPs backed these reforms in a Common vote, as well as overturning the 30-day suspension of Paterson that had been recommended by the committee. However, these reforms were abandoned the following day amid widespread criticism, including from Conservative MPs. Paterson subsequently resigned as an MP.
External links
The Committee's website
References
Select Committees of the British House of Commons
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