HC Deb 19 December 2001 vol 377 cc331-2W
Mr. McNamara

To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, when and on how many occasions the Chairman and individual members of the Commission have received complaints concerning the conduct of the Commissioner for Standards. [23666]

Mr. Kirkwood

[holding answer 18 December 2001]: No complaints have been received by the Commission and no individual Commissioner has raised a complaint with the Commission.

David Winnick

To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will consult the Committee on Standards in Public Life on where responsibility should lie for the appointment of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards; and if he will make a statement. [23321]

Mr. Kirkwood

[holding answer 17 December 2001]: The Committee on Standards in Public Life recommended in its first report (Cm 2850), page 43, that the House of Commons itself should take responsibility for appointing a Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. Accordingly, at the conclusion of the selection process now under way, the House of Commons Commission proposes to make a recommendation to the House. Any change in the method of appointment would be a matter for decision by the House.