The Modernisation Committee

The Modernisation Committee met between 1997 and 2008. You can find an archive of key documents and other material from the committee here. In particular you can see a list of its members (note that it was chaired by the Leader of the House – in the later years this was Harriet Harman MP) and publications by session. Comparing the list of inquiries/publications in the 1997-98 session with those from 2007-08 show the changing priorities of the committee as well as the emphasis on efficiency reforms in the 1997 Parliament. See for example its first report on the legislative process which recommended the introduction of a new system of programming of legislation.

You may also like to look at some of the other reforms recommended by the Committee which have since been implemented including:

Core tasks for parliamentary select committees

A revamped Liaison Committee

Westminster Hall parallel debating chamber

Family friendly sitting hours (see this House of Commons Library briefing on the reforms)

The Wright Committee

Read the key reports of the Committee:

Rebuilding the House (2009)

Rebuilding the House: Implementation (2010)

The Committee’s Rebuilding the House report and recommendations were debated in the House of Commons on 22nd February 2010. Read the debate here. 

You may also like to look at some of the reforms recommended by the committee which have now been implemented including:

The Backbench Business Committee

Election of select committee chairs (see the election rules, the candidates for the 2017 elections and this Commons Library briefing on the election of chairs and members)

To find details of the more contemporary debates on parliamentary reform and modernisation, keep an eye on the inquiries and publications from the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.  Recent activity from PACAC includes an inquiry into statutory instruments and the power of the House of Lords.