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1328266

registered interest
date	26/05/2021
answering body	House of Commons Commission
answering dept id	18
answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
hansard heading	Members: Disciplinary Proceedings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment the Commission has made of the adequacy of the independence of disciplinary proceedings against hon. Members.
tabling member constituency	Luton North
tabling member printed	Sarah Owen
uin	7952
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2021 answer text <p>Bullying and harassment have no place in Parliament. The Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme was established in July 2018 and covers all members of the parliamentary community, including MPs. There have been two independent reviews of the ICGS since its establishment – the <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/conduct-in-parliament/icgs-six-month-review---final-report.pdf/icgs-six-month-review---final-report.pdf" target="_blank">6-month review</a> and the <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/contentassets/e3ed0297d92a400bb249c887a30aa59b/icgs-18-month-review_final.pdf" target="_blank">18-month review</a>. Alison Stanley carried out both reviews, the more recent one concluding in February 2021. Alison Stanley noted in her report in February that there has been much progress on the implementation of the scheme since the 6-month review, but there are still improvements to be made, particularly around the time taken for investigations to conclude. Her review contained 36 recommendations which, when implemented together, will make a significant difference to those who use the scheme.</p><p>The ICGS team has already made progress towards implementing these recommendations in important areas such as speeding up investigations, streamlining the ICGS process, smarter policies and processes, improved accessibility and stronger communications.</p><p>All ICGS cases against MPs are investigated by members of a pool of independent investigators contracted to work with the House Service, overseen by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, who is herself independent and impartial. The Commissioner reviews the investigator’s final report, the accompanying evidence and the investigator’s recommendation. If the Commissioner finds that rules have been breached, she can require an apology to the House or, if she feels the sanctions available to her are not sufficient, can refer to the Independent Expert Panel.</p><p><a href="https://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/independent-expert-panel/" target="_blank">The Independent Expert Panel</a> was established in June 2020; its members were appointed on 25 November following fair and open competition. The Panel is entirely independent, with no MPs taking part in its decisions or able to influence them. It hears appeals and decides sanctions in ICGS cases where complaints of bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct have been brought against MPs. Sanctions could include the suspension or expulsion of an MP, which would then require a vote in the House. To date, it has published four reports on the conduct of MPs.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 07/06/2021 18:12:38 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
tabling member	4777 label Biography information for Sarah Owen

1328269

registered interest
date	26/05/2021
answering body	House of Commons Commission
answering dept id	18
answering dept short name	House of Commons Commission
answering dept sort name	House of Commons Commission
hansard heading	Members: Disciplinary Proceedings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, for what reason rules on disciplinary action against hon. Members differ between those applied to decisions made by the Independent Experts Panel and those applied to decisions made by the Standards Committee.
tabling member constituency	Luton North
tabling member printed	Sarah Owen
uin	7953
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2021 answer text <p>The process for a petition under the Recall of MPs Act 2015 is not triggered by a suspension imposed on the recommendation of the Independent Expert Panel. For a recall to be initiated, the sanction must be imposed on the recommendation of the Committee on Standards, or another Committee of the House of Commons concerned with standards of conduct. The Independent Expert Panel is not a Committee of the House of Commons.</p><p>Prior to the establishment of the Panel in June 2020, the House of Commons Commission listened to concerns expressed during a consultation process that a recall mechanism would be detrimental in cases brought under the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme because of the potential implications for the confidentiality of the process and possibility of retrial by media and the public which could affect the willingness of complainants to come forward.</p> answering member constituency Broxbourne answering member printed Sir Charles Walker question first answered 07/06/2021 18:18:59 answering member 1493 label Biography information for Sir Charles Walker
tabling member	4777 label Biography information for Sarah Owen