At its first meeting on 21 July the Administration Committee elected from among its membership Sir Paul Beresford as Chair of the Committee.
On 9 July the House had also agreed a Motion to appoint Sir Paul as one of four backbench members of the House of Commons Commission, the statutory body responsible for the administration and services of the House of Commons.
Sir Paul has been involved in shaping the administration and procedures of the House of Commons over several Parliaments. Sir Paul served on the Procedure Committee from 1997 to 2001, and on the Standards and Privileges Committee from 2010; continuing as a member of the separate Standards and Privileges committees after the combined committee was split in January 2013.
In the last Parliament, Sir Paul was also a member of the Finance and Service Committee (now the Finance Committee), which looked at expenditure on, and the administration of, services for the House of Commons: conducting detailed scrutiny of the House’s budgets.
Who they are:
- The Administration Select Committee is composed of 11 Members of Parliament representing all the main political parties.
What they do:
- The Administration Select Committee is an advisory committee to the House of Commons Commission. They make recommendations on improvements to services provided by the House of Commons for both Members of Parliament and the public.
- The Committee was established in 2005 to incorporate the work of five former domestic committees: Accommodation & Works, Administration, Broadcasting, Catering and Information. We therefore cover a wide range of topics including: catering services; the education service; visitor services; the gift shops; IT services; the broadcasting of Parliament; rules of access; and the management of the buildings and facilities which make up the parliamentary Estate.
- In addition to their advisory role they are also empowered from time to time by the Speaker to make rules and give directions to Officers of the House in relation to specific areas within the Committee's remit. They also work closely with the Finance Committee.
How they work:
- The Committee has weekly private meetings and occasional public evidence sessions.
Correspondence
Parliament is currently on Recess for the summer but MPs are still busy replying to constituents who are contacting the office via post or email.
This week, Sir Paul has been contacted regarding a wide range of issues, including: the Assisted Dying Bill, CCTV in slaughterhouses, medicine for MS, availability of broadband, an immigration case, Gatwick Airport and amending the Hunting Act.