Wright Committee proposals for public involvement in the parliamentary process disappointing, says Hansard Society - 25 November 2009
House of Commons Reform Committee report, Rebuilding the House, needs to be urgently implemented before general election but further reforms of legislative process are needed
Proposals published today by the House of Commons Reform Committee to enhance Parliament's control over its own agenda, timetable and procedures have been welcomed by the Hansard Society as a useful start to much needed reform of parliamentary procedures and the legislative process. However, the recommendations to facilitate greater public involvement in the parliamentary process are weak and disappointing.
The Hansard Society first recommended the establishment of a Committee to steer parliamentary business in its 1992 Commission on the Legislative Process report. Seventeen years later we therefore welcome the proposal to establish a House Business Committee and a Backbench Business Committee to manage the parliamentary agenda in future. Similarly, the recommendations for the election of Select Committee Chairs by the whole House and election of Committee members within party groups also reflect the Hansard Society's long-standing recommendations that the role and function of Select Committees should be strengthened.
The recommendations to facilitate greater public involvement in the parliamentary process are insufficient. The Hansard Society has consistently called for the introduction of a Petitions Committee and the adoption of an e-Petitions system alongside the existing paper petitions process. The report's proposals fall short of this goal, proposing a trial period for a Procedure and Petitions Committee and ‘urgent discussions' on the introduction of e-Petitions. However, the proposed trial period will only be a few months duration until the end of this Parliament which may be too short a time to effectively evaluate the process. And, despite previous Commons Committee reports recommending the establishment of an e-Petitions system, proposals for one have long been stalled. ‘Urgent discussions' of the kind proposed by the Committee may therefore not be sufficient to unblock the logjam before the end of this Parliament.
Commenting on the recommendations, Dr Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society's Parliament and Government Programme said, ‘These are very useful reforms but on their own they won't be enough to rebuild public trust in Parliament and enhance the role and function of MPs. There remains a lot more to be done to improve the legislative and scrutiny process, particularly to give the public a greater say over what happens in Parliament. We hoped for stronger recommendations than a short trial period for a Petitions Committee and further discussions about e-Petitions. There has already been a lot of talk about this - what is needed is a decision.'
For further information contact Virginia Gibbons on 020 7438 1225 or Ruth Fox on 020 7438 1211 or 07779666771
Editors' Notes
- The Hansard Society is the UK's leading non-partisan political research and education charity which exists to strengthen parliamentary democracy and encourage greater public involvement in politics. (http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/)
- The Hansard Society's evidence submission to the House of Commons Reform Committee can be found here