Appointment

41.3When one House agrees a resolution that it would be expedient to establish a joint committee for a particular purpose, it communicates its decision to the other House in a message. If the other House concurs, it replies to that effect, further messages then being exchanged as necessary.1 It is now common practice2 for the first House to communicate its resolution on expediency to the second House and to invite the second House to concur; the second House then concurs, establishes its committee and nominates the membership; in response, the first House then establishes its committee and nominates its membership.3 Once the agreement to establish a joint committee has been reached, there is however no reason why the two Houses cannot proceed to appoint their committees separately without either waiting for a message from the other.

The Lords have disagreed with the Commons in the establishment of a joint committee.4 The Commons have negatived a proposal to concur with the Lords in the appointment of a joint committee.5 Resolutions of the Lords proposing the establishment of a joint committee have also received no response from the Commons.6 Resolutions communicated by one House or the other, proposing that a certain bill, or that certain bills, should be committed to a joint committee, have been disagreed to by the second House,7 or no action has been taken on them.8 A reasoned amendment has been proposed in the Commons to a motion for taking into consideration a Lords message proposing the establishment of a joint committee.9 A resolution communicated by the Lords as to the expediency of appointing a joint committee has been concurred in by the Commons without further action being taken by either House.10 A message from one House proposing the appointment of a joint committee in one session has been responded to by the other House in a later session.11

Footnotes

  1. 1. See para 9.17 for a description of formal communications between the Houses.
  2. 2. LJ (2010–12) 1175 and CJ (2010–12) 732 (Joint Committee on the House of Lords Reform Bill); Votes and Proceedings, 5 November 2015 and LJ (2015–16) 431, 484 (Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill); Votes and Proceedings, 16 July 2015 and LJ (2015–16) 175, 236 (Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster). In the case of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, the Commons made the initial proposal, and the nomination of the Commons Members was included in the initial motion, CJ (2012–13) 180 (paras (2) and (3)).
  3. 3. The names of the Members nominated are not included in the messages, reflecting the principle that the selection of members is entirely a matter for the House concerned.
  4. 4. LJ (1978–79) 199.
  5. 5. HC Deb (22 October 2015) 600, c 1240: proposed Joint Committee on Constitutional implications of English Votes for English Laws.
  6. 6. Votes and Proceedings, 18 April 2017: proposed Joint Committee on Terms and options for any votes in Parliament on the outcome of the negotiations on the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union.
  7. 7. LJ (1928–29) 161; ibid (1930–31) 260; CJ (1908) 79, 102; ibid (1928–29) 150, 168; ibid (1930–31) 285, 294.
  8. 8. For example, Town Improvements (Betterment) 1893; Declaration against Transubstantiation 1901; Professional Accountants Bill and Rights of Way Bill 1911.
  9. 9. CJ (1918) 165. See also Notices of Motions (1966–67) p 11977.
  10. 10. Motor Omnibuses and Trolley Vehicles Traffic, CJ (1914) 394, 403; Indian Affairs, CJ (1929–30) 117, 143; Publication of Proceedings in Parliament, CJ (1967–68) 361, 367.
  11. 11. LJ (1999–2000) 573, CJ (1999–2000) 500, 697; CJ (2000–01) 61, 70 (Joint Committee on Human Rights).