Mr Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Barry Sheerman on 2014-03-17.

To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps he is taking to improve the support available to hon. Members.

John Thurso

The fundamental aims of the Commission are not only to ensure that the House is valued and effective in holding the Government to account and scrutinising legislation, but that individual Members have the information, advice, support and technology they need to be effective in their work and to engage closely with their constituents.

We are coming to the end of a programme of savings, during which the governing principle has been that any cost reductions should not adversely affect the ability of the House and its Members to carry out their parliamentary functions. Indeed many of the changes have been a spur to innovation in the support available to Members. Now that we are on track to achieve the savings target, we have the opportunity to re-appraise the provision of resources and ensure, for example in the area of select committees, that we are providing the right level of support.