Richard Kelly

On 23 June 2020, the House is being asked to asked to approve motions on the establishment of an Independent Expert Panel to consider cases against MPs raised under the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme.

This House of Commons Library briefing paper discusses the procedure for recalling Parliament, as well as providing details of recent occasions when Parliament has been recalled.

The House debated the Independent Complaints and Grievance Policy Programme Team’s Delivery Report on 19 July 2018 and agreed a new parliament-wide Behaviour Code. Procedures for making complaints and obtaining support have been put in place. This briefing note reviews the debate, the report, the background to it and subsequent developments. Inquiries by Dame Laura Cox and Gemma White, and the implementation of their recommendations are also discussed.

On Monday 8 June 2020, the House of Commons will hold an emergency debate on the conduct of House business during the pandemic.

This Insight explores how the temporary hybrid model for proceedings affected the participation of women MPs.

The Liaison Committee has held oral evidence sessions with the Prime Minister since 2002. On 20 March 2020, the House agreed to appoint the Liaison Committee. On 22 March, the Committee announced that it would be taking evidence from the Prime Minister on 27 March.

This Briefing Paper illustrates changes that have been made to procedures and practices in response to coronavirus in the House of Commons and a small selection of other parliaments.

This briefing paper sets out the legislative background to the post of Compliance Officer, created in the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, as amended. The Compliance Officer investigates complaints about expenses claimed by Members of Parliament and reviews claims that the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority does not allow. The briefing paper outlines the procedures the Compliance Officer follows in undertaking investigations and reviews.

This Commons Library briefing paper sets out the number of ministers in the House of Lords over recent years. It considers briefly the accountability arrangements for Cabinet Ministers in the Lords and it looks at the appointment of ‘outside’ ministerial appointments.

Parliaments across the world are adapting to the new realities resulting from the Covid-19 outbreak.

On 20 June 2002, the members of the Liaison Committee agreed a set of ten core tasks for Select Committees to guide their work. The Committee reviewed and revised the core tasks in 2012 and 2019. This note compares the 2019 version with the earlier versions of the core tasks. It also provides a brief background to the introduction of the core tasks in 2002.

This note reviews the outcome of House of Lords Constitution Committee’s inquiry into fast-track legislation. It reports how information has been provided to Parliament on bills that have been fast-tracked.

The Backbench Business Committee has responsibility for scheduling non-ministerial business in the House of Commons. This Commons Library Briefing Paper sets out how the membership of the Committee is determined, it approach to date, and notes some assessments of its impact.