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Committee of Selection

My Lords, let me say first that I am very clear about my function, which is that I am a servant of this House. Therefore, I entirely take on board, and am very interested in, what the noble Lords and the noble Baroness—as I must now call them, rather than “my noble friends”—have said, as part of that important role as a servant of this House.

As your Lordships will understand, I have been in post for but two days. However, on the issue of composition of committees, there are a number of

things that I have been seeking to tease out. Having looked at the Motions, I am inclined to say that the force of experience that your Lordships provide on these committees is nothing short of unique. It is truly exceptional what this House can provide by way of specialism.

The practice, I understand, is that all Chief Whips and the Convenor seek expressions of interest from their Members. If Members are keen to serve on particular committees, I suggest that they speak to the Chief Whips or the Convenor. But it is important to say that, in the case of any Members not so represented, I would encourage them to write to me, setting out their desire to serve on a particular committee. I will then ensure that that expression of interest is considered by the Committee of Selection at the appropriate point.

Something that I know has been under consideration is the issue of elections of committee chairs, and I understand that during the extensive committee review exercise the Liaison Committee heard evidence on that. After careful consideration, the committee took the view that the current arrangements had a number of distinct advantages. Of particular note for me was the expertise we have in this House, the fact that the composition of this House is different from the other place, and the consensual and apolitical nature of our committee work; all are important features that we ought to reflect upon. We are different, although there are obviously important similarities in the work that we do. Further to the consensual and apolitical approach to committees, from my first impressions it is very important for the committee structure to have a spread across the whole House, so that the expertise and distinct knowledge that your Lordships bring is clear.

On the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, regarding the Motions being tabled on Tuesday, I understand that it is the usual practice to reappoint committees quickly at the beginning of a new Session. The point that has been put to me—as the new boy—is that, as a result of the rotation of committee members having already taken place in January, the membership of these committees remains almost entirely the same as it was before Parliament was prorogued. As such, the Motions allow our committees to continue their important work, picking up as necessary the inquiries and activities that they were engaged in just a few weeks ago.

I have of course heard the points that were made about the Conduct Committee. Indeed, I have had a number of discussions already in the few days that I have been in this post. The House appointed four lay members to the Conduct Committee in October 2019. This followed the House’s earlier agreement to a recommendation from the Committee for Privileges and Conduct in April 2019. The decision to appoint lay members to the Conduct Committee was made by the whole House. The lay and Peer members are a cohesive group, working to oversee the Code of Conduct. I assure noble Lords that the inclusion of lay members on the internal disciplinary committee of the House is—when I asked the question—very much in the direction of travel of other legislatures and public bodies. I have noted the points that have been made by

noble Lords, but I think that this scrutiny—by both your Lordships and lay members—is an important dynamic for the long-term reputation of this House.

Noble Lords have made points about the Valuing Everyone training. I am mindful of this, and of course I have been on the course. The House as a whole agreed to making the Valuing Everyone training mandatory for Members, and the independent Commissioner for Standards is therefore required by the code to look at the circumstances of all Members who do not undertake the training by the deadline set by the House. My understanding is that the commissioner is expected to report soon on this, and I look forward to that report.

12.45 pm

On the point that the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, raised about committees, what I have found interesting—again, all noble Lords have endorsed the work of my predecessor, now the Lord Speaker—is that we have already started a number of new committees, which I think will be profoundly important in the long term; they are long-term committees. The ability to refresh the committees and the ideas that there are for further work as existing inquiries conclude their work at the end of this year, and the mechanisms for that, is also important.

I will conclude on the matter of transparency. What we are doing today is enabling committees to continue their work, on the basis of the rotation in January. I very much want to hear what noble Lords have to say on how we can do things better, and my door will always be open to your Lordships—obviously with some social distancing and within the realms of possibility. My mission is that we seek to do things better and that the reputation of this House is continuously raised. In the work of the committees, we have such extraordinary breadth of expertise, and I think that we should do much more to ensure that that work is promulgated much more widely; that the consideration of that work is used and appreciated in government—I say that, having come from such a position; and that such work is seen by the wider public to be among the essence of the work that your Lordships do on behalf of the nation.

I promise all noble Lords who have spoken that I have taken on board the points that they made. On some points, it is not appropriate for me to raise individual cases—indeed, I understand that from the Standing Orders—and I hope that your Lordships will respect me in saying that. However, we have an extraordinary opportunity with the committees to do great work.