Commons Select Committee on Standards
The Commons Select Committee on Standards is appointed by the House of Commons to oversee the work of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
The House of Commons may suspend an MP following a report by the Committee. Under the Recall of MPs Act 2015, if the period of suspension is at least 14 calendar days or 10 sitting days, the Speaker informs the constituency's petitions officer, who then orders a recall petition, which may result in the MP losing their seat.
History
It came into being on 7 January 2013 as one half of the replacements for the Committee on Standards and Privileges. The latter committee was divided into the Committee on Standards and Committee of Privileges in order that the Standards Committee might employ lay members.
Planned reforms in the wake of the Owen Paterson affair in November 2021, proposed removing the lay members entirely, which would leave the Conservatives with a majority of control. MPs voted in favour of, as well as overruling the 30-day suspension advised by the Committee, widespread reforms to the Committee by a 250-232 vote. However, these reforms, amid public and party criticism, were abandoned the following day.
Membership
The Committee and its composition are regulated by House of Commons standing orders 149 and 149A, which specify that it shall consist of seven MPs and seven lay members. Lay members, who cannot ever have been members of either house of Parliament, serve a term of six years, which is not ended by a dissolution, and cannot serve a second term. As of September 2020, the MPs on the committee are as follows:[1]
| Member | Party | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Bryant MP (Chair) | Labour | Rhondda | |
| Alberto Costa MP | Conservative | South Leicestershire | |
| Andy Carter MP | Conservative | Warrington South | |
| Anne McLaughlin MP | Scottish National Party | Glasgow North East | |
| Sir Bernard Jenkin MP | Conservative | Harwich and North Essex | |
| Chris Elmore MP | Labour | Ogmore | |
| Mark Fletcher MP | Conservative | Bolsover | |
| Tammy Banks | Lay member | ||
| Jane Burgess | Lay member | ||
| Rita Dexter | Lay member | ||
| Mehmuda Mian | Lay member | ||
| Arun Midha | Lay member | ||
| Michael Maguire | Lay member | ||
| Paul Thorogood | Lay member | ||