The House of Commons Procedure Committee has today
published its report into Commons scrutiny of Secretaries of
State in the House of Lords.
The Committee recommends that, for the remainder of the
Parliament, the House of Commons should change its practice so
that the Foreign Secretary can be scrutinised by MPs on behalf of
their constituents.
It proposes that the Rt Hon of Chipping Norton should be
able to answer questions and makes statements from the Bar of the
House at the end of the chamber rather than the despatch box,
which should remain reserved for MPs.
The Rt Hon Dame MP, Chair of the Procedure
Committee said:
“As elected representatives, Members of the House of Commons
have a duty to question the Foreign Secretary. This is especially
pressing in light of the crises in the Middle East and
Ukraine.
The committee has considered various mechanisms of scrutiny and
taken the views of Members, while bearing in mind the
practicalities of each proposal. We have ultimately concluded
that all MPs should be afforded the opportunity to question
Secretaries of State who sit in the House of Lords, with the
Commons Chamber providing the best forum to do so.
We hope the Government implements our proposals as quickly as
possible, so that MPs can best scrutinise all Secretaries of
States on behalf of their constituents.”
is the first Member of the
Lords to hold one of the Great Offices of State for over 40
years. Following his appointment, the Speaker asked the Committee
to explore enhanced options for scrutiny of senior ministers who
sat in the Lords.
The Committee’s preference is that Secretaries of State should
sit in the Commons, however it has made time-limited proposals to
facilitate scrutiny of the Foreign Secretary during this
Parliament. It has recommended that he should attend regular
departmental question times in the Commons Chamber, and also make
ministerial statements and answer urgent questions in the Commons
where it would be normal for the Foreign Secretary to appear.
This would be alongside the normal appearances a Secretary of
State would make before Commons select committees.
The previously proposed option
of scrutinising the Foreign Secretary in a committee room or
Westminster Hall were not practical in the Committee’s view, as
only a small fraction of MPs would be able to attend. Although
many parts of parliamentary business are delegated to junior
ministers the Committee concluded that all MPs should have the
opportunity to scrutinise the Foreign Secretary, who is
ultimately accountable for the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth
and Development Office, on behalf of their constituents. This is
even more important at a time of heightened global tensions.
