UK Parliament — House of Commons

The chairs of the following select committees shall be elected by the House in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (14) below:

select committees appointed under Standing Order No. 152 (Select committees related to government departments);

the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee;

the Environmental Audit Committee;

the Select Committee on Public Administration;

the Committee of Public Accounts; and

the Select Committee on Procedure.

The day following his election at the start of a new Parliament, the Speaker shall communicate to the leaders of each party represented in the House the proportion of chairs of select committees to be elected under this order falling to each such party which would reflect the composition of the House.

If, within a week of the Queen's Speech, a motion in the name of the leaders of all the parties entitled to one or more chairs of select committees subject to election under this order specifying to which party each such chair is allocated is moved, the questions necessary to dispose of proceedings on the motion shall be put not later than one hour after their commencement, proceedings on the motion shall be exempted business and Standing Order No. 41A (Deferred divisions) shall not apply.

If a motion to which paragraph (3) above applies also makes changes to Standing Order No. 152 (Select committees related to government departments) which are consequential on changes to the machinery of government, then the questions necessary to dispose of proceedings on the motion shall be put not later than one and a half hours after their commencement; proceedings on the motion shall be exempted business; and Standing Order No. 41A (Deferred divisions) shall not apply.

If, on the expiry of two weeks after the Queen's Speech, no motion in the name of the leaders of all the parties entitled to one or more chairs of select committees subject to election under this order specifying to which party each said chair is allocated has been tabled, on the following sitting day the Speaker shall give precedence to a motion tabled thereafter by any Member to allocate chairs under this order and the provisions of paragraphs (3) and (4) shall apply to proceedings on such a motion.

If the House has agreed a motion allocating chairs to parties the election of the chairs shall take place in accordance with the remaining provisions of this order.

The ballots shall take place fourteen days after the approval of the motion allocating chairs to parties.

Nominations of candidates shall be in writing and shall be received by the Clerk of the House by 5.00 pm on the day before the ballot.

Each nomination shall consist of a signed statement made by the candidate declaring his willingness to stand for election, accompanied by the signatures of fifteen Members elected to the House as members of the same party as the candidate or ten per cent. of the Members elected to the House as members of that party, whichever is the lower.

Statements may be accompanied by signatures of up to five Members elected to the House as members of any party other than that to which the candidate belongs, or members of no party.

No Member may sign the statement of more than one candidate for chair of the same select committee.

No Member may be a candidate for the chair of a select committee which has not been allocated to his party under paragraph (3) of this order or otherwise, or for which he is ineligible under Standing Order No. 122A (Term limits for chairs of select committees).

No Member may be a candidate for the chair of the Committee of Public Accounts unless his party is that of the official Opposition.

No Member may be a candidate for more than one chair elected under this order.

As soon as practicable following the close of nominations, lists of the candidates and their accompanying signatories shall be published.

Election of chairs of select committees under this order shall be by secret ballot.

Preparatory arrangements for the ballots shall be made under the supervision of the Clerk of the House.

If there is only one candidate for the chair of a select committee, that candidate shall be declared elected without a ballot.

The ballot shall take place in a place appointed by the Speaker.

Each Member intending to vote shall be provided with a ballot paper for each select committee bearing the names of the candidates listed in alphabetical order.

Members will vote by ranking as many candidates as they wish in order of preference, marking 1 by the name of their first preference, 2 by the name of their second preference, and so on. Any candidate who receives more than half the first preferences shall be elected. If no candidate is so elected, the candidate or candidates with the lowest number of first preferences shall be eliminated and their votes distributed among the remaining candidates according to the preferences on them. If no candidate has more than half the votes, the process of elimination and distribution is repeated, until one candidate has more than half the votes.

The ballot shall be open between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm and counting shall take place under arrangements made by the Clerk of the House.

The Speaker shall have power to give directions on any matter of doubt arising from the conduct of a ballot or from an individual ballot paper and to vary the timings given in paragraphs (6) to (11) of this order.

As soon as practicable after the closing of the ballot the results shall be published under the direction of the Speaker.

A chair elected under this order is a member of the committee of which he is elected chair.

The chairs of the following select committees shall be elected by the House in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (14) below:

select committees appointed under Standing Order No. 152 (Select committees related to government departments);

the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee;

the Environmental Audit Committee;

the Petitions Committee;

the Select Committee on Public Administration;

the Committee of Public Accounts; and

the Procedure Committee.

The day following his election at the start of a new Parliament, the Speaker shall communicate to the leaders of each party represented in the House the proportion of chairs of select committees to be elected under this order falling to each such party which would reflect the composition of the House.

If, within a week of the Queen's Speech, a motion in the name of the leaders of all the parties entitled to one or more chairs of select committees subject to election under this order specifying to which party each such chair is allocated is moved, the questions necessary to dispose of proceedings on the motion shall be put not later than one hour after their commencement, proceedings on the motion shall be exempted business and Standing Order No. 41A (Deferred divisions) shall not apply.

If a motion to which paragraph (3) above applies also makes changes to Standing Order No. 152 (Select committees related to government departments) which are consequential on changes to the machinery of government, then the questions necessary to dispose of proceedings on the motion shall be put not later than one and a half hours after their commencement; proceedings on the motion shall be exempted business; and Standing Order No. 41A (Deferred divisions) shall not apply.

If, on the expiry of two weeks after the Queen's Speech, no motion in the name of the leaders of all the parties entitled to one or more chairs of select committees subject to election under this order specifying to which party each said chair is allocated has been tabled, on the following sitting day the Speaker shall give precedence to a motion tabled thereafter by any Member to allocate chairs under this order and the provisions of paragraphs (3) and (4) shall apply to proceedings on such a motion.

If the House has agreed a motion allocating chairs to parties the election of the chairs shall take place in accordance with the remaining provisions of this order.

The ballots shall take place fourteen days after the approval of the motion allocating chairs to parties.

Nominations of candidates shall be in writing and shall be received by the Clerk of the House by 5.00 pm on the day before the ballot.

Each nomination shall consist of a signed statement made by the candidate declaring his willingness to stand for election, accompanied by the signatures of fifteen Members elected to the House as members of the same party as the candidate or ten per cent. of the Members elected to the House as members of that party, whichever is the lower.

Statements may be accompanied by signatures of up to five Members elected to the House as members of any party other than that to which the candidate belongs, or members of no party.

No Member may sign the statement of more than one candidate for chair of the same select committee.

No Member may be a candidate for the chair of a select committee which has not been allocated to his party under paragraph (3) of this order or otherwise, or for which he is ineligible under Standing Order No. 122A (Term limits for chairs of select committees).

No Member may be a candidate for the chair of the Committee of Public Accounts unless his party is that of the official Opposition.

No Member may be a candidate for more than one chair elected under this order.

As soon as practicable following the close of nominations, lists of the candidates and their accompanying signatories shall be published.

Election of chairs of select committees under this order shall be by secret ballot.

Preparatory arrangements for the ballots shall be made under the supervision of the Clerk of the House.

If there is only one candidate for the chair of a select committee, that candidate shall be declared elected without a ballot.

The ballot shall take place in a place appointed by the Speaker.

Each Member intending to vote shall be provided with a ballot paper for each select committee bearing the names of the candidates listed in alphabetical order.

Members will vote by ranking as many candidates as they wish in order of preference, marking 1 by the name of their first preference, 2 by the name of their second preference, and so on. Any candidate who receives more than half the first preferences shall be elected. If no candidate is so elected, the candidate or candidates with the lowest number of first preferences shall be eliminated and their votes distributed among the remaining candidates according to the preferences on them. If no candidate has more than half the votes, the process of elimination and distribution is repeated, until one candidate has more than half the votes.

The ballot shall be open between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm and counting shall take place under arrangements made by the Clerk of the House.

The Speaker shall have power to give directions on any matter of doubt arising from the conduct of a ballot or from an individual ballot paper and to vary the timings given in paragraphs (6) to (11) of this order.

As soon as practicable after the closing of the ballot the results shall be published under the direction of the Speaker.

A chair elected under this order is a member of the committee of which he is elected chair.

The chairs of the following select committees shall be elected by the House in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (14) below:

select committees appointed under Standing Order No. 152 (Select committees related to government departments);

the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee;

the Environmental Audit Committee;

the Petitions Committee;

the Select Committee on Public Administration;

the Committee of Public Accounts;

the Procedure Committee; and

the Committee on Standards.

The day following his election at the start of a new Parliament, the Speaker shall communicate to the leaders of each party represented in the House the proportion of chairs of select committees to be elected under this order falling to each such party which would reflect the composition of the House.

If, within a week of the Queen's Speech, a motion in the name of the leaders of all the parties entitled to one or more chairs of select committees subject to election under this order specifying to which party each such chair is allocated is moved, the questions necessary to dispose of proceedings on the motion shall be put not later than one hour after their commencement, proceedings on the motion shall be exempted business and Standing Order No. 41A (Deferred divisions) shall not apply.

If a motion to which paragraph (3) above applies also makes changes to Standing Order No. 152 (Select committees related to government departments) which are consequential on changes to the machinery of government, then the questions necessary to dispose of proceedings on the motion shall be put not later than one and a half hours after their commencement; proceedings on the motion shall be exempted business; and Standing Order No. 41A (Deferred divisions) shall not apply.

If, on the expiry of two weeks after the Queen's Speech, no motion in the name of the leaders of all the parties entitled to one or more chairs of select committees subject to election under this order specifying to which party each said chair is allocated has been tabled, on the following sitting day the Speaker shall give precedence to a motion tabled thereafter by any Member to allocate chairs under this order and the provisions of paragraphs (3) and (4) shall apply to proceedings on such a motion.

If the House has agreed a motion allocating chairs to parties the election of the chairs shall take place in accordance with the remaining provisions of this order.

The ballots shall take place fourteen days after the approval of the motion allocating chairs to parties.

Nominations of candidates shall be in writing and shall be received by the Clerk of the House by 5.00 pm on the day before the ballot.

Each nomination shall consist of a signed statement made by the candidate declaring his willingness to stand for election, accompanied by the signatures of fifteen Members elected to the House as members of the same party as the candidate or ten per cent. of the Members elected to the House as members of that party, whichever is the lower.

Statements may be accompanied by signatures of up to five Members elected to the House as members of any party other than that to which the candidate belongs, or members of no party.

No Member may sign the statement of more than one candidate for chair of the same select committee.

No Member may be a candidate for the chair of a select committee which has not been allocated to his party under paragraph (3) of this order or otherwise, or for which he is ineligible under Standing Order No. 122A (Term limits for chairs of select committees).

No Member may be a candidate for the chair of the Committee of Public Accounts or the Committee on Standards unless his party is that of the official Opposition.

No Member may be a candidate for more than one chair elected under this order.

As soon as practicable following the close of nominations, lists of the candidates and their accompanying signatories shall be published.

Election of chairs of select committees under this order shall be by secret ballot.

Preparatory arrangements for the ballots shall be made under the supervision of the Clerk of the House.

If there is only one candidate for the chair of a select committee, that candidate shall be declared elected without a ballot.

The ballot shall take place in a place appointed by the Speaker.

Each Member intending to vote shall be provided with a ballot paper for each select committee bearing the names of the candidates listed in alphabetical order.

Members will vote by ranking as many candidates as they wish in order of preference, marking 1 by the name of their first preference, 2 by the name of their second preference, and so on. Any candidate who receives more than half the first preferences shall be elected. If no candidate is so elected, the candidate or candidates with the lowest number of first preferences shall be eliminated and their votes distributed among the remaining candidates according to the preferences on them. If no candidate has more than half the votes, the process of elimination and distribution is repeated, until one candidate has more than half the votes.

The ballot shall be open between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm and counting shall take place under arrangements made by the Clerk of the House.

The Speaker shall have power to give directions on any matter of doubt arising from the conduct of a ballot or from an individual ballot paper and to vary the timings given in paragraphs (6) to (11) of this order.

As soon as practicable after the closing of the ballot the results shall be published under the direction of the Speaker.

A chair elected under this order is a member of the committee of which he is elected chair.