The Standards and Privileges Committee of the United Kingdom House of Commons was established in 1995 to replace the earlier Committee of Privileges. Ten Members of Parliament sit to make recommendations to the House on complaints of breach of Parliamentary privilege. It was itself replaced on 7 January 2013, when it was split into the Committee on Standards and the Committee of Privileges.
Contents
The Committee was appointed by the House of Commons to oversee the work of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. It examined the arrangements for the compilation, maintenance and accessibility of the Register of Members' Interests and considered specific complaints made in relation to the registering or declaring of interests and any matter relating to the conduct of Members, including specific complaints in relation to alleged breaches in the Code of Conduct which were drawn to the Committee's attention by the Commissioner.
On 9 December 2010 Geoff Hoon along with Stephen Byers and Richard Caborn were banned from entering the Parliamentary Estate; the Committee banned Hoon for five years as his was the most serious breach, whilst Byers received two years and Caborn six months. This was due to the 2010 cash for influence scandal.
Membership
As of 12 December 2012, the members of the committee were as follows:
Source: Standards and Privileges Committee
Changes
Occasionally, the House of Commons ordered changes to be made in terms of membership of select committees, as proposed by the Committee of Selection. Such changes are shown below.