Decisions 21 October 2013

Present:

The Speaker, in the Chair
Sir Paul Beresford
Frank Doran
Angela Eagle
John Thurso

1.  RESOURCING OF THE INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE

The Commission agreed that:

1. subject to the agreement of the Lords House Committee, the ISC secretariat be transferred from the Cabinet Office to form an office within the House of Commons Service;
2. the ISC should be funded, by a separate line in the Administration Estimate (with a proportion of the costs recharged to the House of Lords), and that the Clerk of the ISC should be appointed an Additional Accounting Officer responsible for this expenditure; and
3. that the chair should be remunerated from the Committee's budget in line with Select Committee chairs.

2.  AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORTS 2012/13

The Commission took note of the annual report of the Administration Estimate Audit Committee for 2012/13.

The Committee took take note of the annual report of the Members Estimate Audit Committee for 2012/13.

3.  RESPECT POLICY

The Commission agreed to request that the Committee on Standards considers how a system might operate in which, if resolution is not possible by other means, and if the complaint is sufficiently grave, allegations of harassment or bullying of House staff are referred to the Commissioner for Standards for investigation and the Committee for adjudication.

4.  ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE'S REPORT ON INDUCTION (FIRST WEEKS AT WESTMINSTER: INDUCTION ARRANGEMENTS FOR NEW MPS IN 2015, HC 193 2013–14)

Sir Alan Haselhurst and Karen Bradley presented the Committee's report.

5.  DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Commission/MEC will take place on Monday 25 November at 5pm in Speaker's House.