§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many times the Commission has met in the past two years; how this body is serviced; how many staff at what grades are attached to the Commission; what the job title is of each post; by what method the staff are recruited; what the breakdown is of employees by(a)gender and (b) ethnicity; and what plans he has to make the work of the Commission more transparent. [23664]
§ Mr. Kirkwood[holding answer 18 December 2001]: In the two years to 31 December 2001 the Commission will have met 19 times.
333WThe Commission is advised and assisted by the Finance and Services Committee and the five Domestic Committees, by the Board of Management, and by other Committees, Chairmen, individual Members and Officers of the House, according to the business under consideration. It draws upon outside advice when appropriate.
The Secretary to the Commission is a Principal Clerk, who also serves as Clerk of the Finance and Services Committee and as a Clerk at the Table. On Commission business he is supported by one Grade 2 Secretary (this post is job shared) and one Grade 3 Secretary, who also help support the Finance and Services Committee and the Domestic Committees. All four staff are permanent members of the House of Commons Services; all were recruited by open competition. Three are female and one is male. Ethnic origin information is provided by staff in confidence; it is the House's practice not to disclose the ethnic mix of small groups of staff, in order to maintain that confidence.
The Commission reports on its work in its Annual Report, which also includes sections on the Board of Management, and on the performance and plans of individual Departments. It now includes the Annual Report of the Audit Committee. The latest Report, for 2000–01 (HC 155 of Session 2001–02), is available from the Vote Office and on the internet. The Commission is seeking further to improve content and presentation in the Annual Report for 2001–02. In addition, it has approved intranet webpages covering the Audit Committee, the Board of Management and the Office of the Clerk, as well as the Commission itself. These will be available shortly.