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<p>The House strengthened its own procedures in January 2013 by reconstituting the
Committee on Standards to include lay member representation, with a specific right
to submit an opinion on any report of that Committee and to have it published.</p><p>I
have had recent discussions with the Chair of the Committee on Standards, the Parliamentary
Commissioner for Standards and other interested parties on ensuring that the standards
regime for Members is as robust as it can be.</p><p>I expect the Committee on Standards
to announce shortly terms of reference for an inquiry examining the current system,
which draws on the recent report by the lay members of that Committee. I expect to
follow up my discussions with the Committee on Standards in order further to strengthen
lay members' scrutiny of standards matters. If any Member wishes to bring forward
specific proposals for improvements to the system, this is of course something that
both the Committee and the House will wish to consider.</p><p> </p>
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