Search Legislation

House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978

 Help about what version

What Version

 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

Changes over time for: House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978 (without Schedules)

 Help about opening options

Changes to legislation:

There are currently no known outstanding effects for the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.

1 The House of Commons Commission.U.K.

(1)There shall be a body of Commissioners named the House of Commons Commission to perform the functions conferred on it by this Act.

[F1(1A)The Commission is to consist of seven parliamentary members, two external members and two official members.]

(2)The [F2parliamentary members are to be]

(a)Mr. Speaker,

(b)the Leader of the House of Commons,

(c)a member of the House of Commons nominated by the Leader of the Opposition,

(d)[F3four] other members of the House of Commons appointed by the House of Commons, none of whom shall be a Minister of the Crown.

[F4(2A)An external member may not be—

(a)a member of the House of Commons,

(b)a member of the House of Lords,

(c)a member of staff in the House Departments, or

(d)a member of staff of the House of Lords.

(2B)An external member is to be appointed by resolution of the House of Commons.

(2C)The official members are—

(a)the Clerk of the House of Commons or, if that office is vacant, a member of staff in the House Departments who is appointed as an official member by the Commission, and

(b)the Director General of the House of Commons or, if that office is vacant or no longer exists, a member of staff in the House Departments who is appointed as an official member by the Commission.]

(3)As soon as possible after the end of the year 1978–79, and of each subsequent financial year, the Commission shall prepare and present to the House of Commons a report on the exercise of its functions in that year, and shall cause it to be printed.

(4)In this section—

  • Leader of the House of Commons” means the Minister of the Crown for the time being nominated as such by the Prime Minister,

  • Leader of the Opposition” means the person who is the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons for the purposes of section 2 of the M1Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975.

  • [F5member of staff of the House of Lords” means a person who is employed under a contract of employment with the Corporate Officer of the House of Lords.]

(5)Schedule 1 to this Act has effect as respects the Commission.

Textual Amendments

F1S. 1(1A) inserted (26.3.2015 for specified purposes, 10.7.2015 in so far as not already in force) by House of Commons Commission Act 2015 (c. 24), ss. 1(2), 3(2)(3)

F2Words in s. 1(2) substituted (26.3.2015 for specified purposes, 10.7.2015 in so far as not already in force) by House of Commons Commission Act 2015 (c. 24), ss. 1(3)(a), 3(2)(3)

F3Word in s. 1(2)(d) substituted (26.3.2015 for specified purposes, 10.7.2015 in so far as not already in force) by House of Commons Commission Act 2015 (c. 24), ss. 1(3)(b), 3(2)(3)

F4S. 1(2A)-(2C) inserted (26.3.2015 for specified purposes, 10.7.2015 in so far as not already in force) by House of Commons Commission Act 2015 (c. 24), ss. 1(4), 3(2)(3)

F5Words in s. 1(4) inserted (26.3.2015 for specified purposes, 10.7.2015 in so far as not already in force) by House of Commons Commission Act 2015 (c. 24), ss. 1(5), 3(2)(3)

Marginal Citations

2 Functions of Commission.U.K.

[F6(A1)The Commission must from time to time set strategic priorities and objectives in connection with services provided by the House Departments.]

(1)The Commission shall appoint all staff in the House Departments, and shall determine their numbers and their remuneration and other terms and conditions of service.

(2)The Commission shall ensure that the complementing, grading and pay of staff in the House Departments are kept broadly in line with those in the [F7statutory home civil service], and that, so far as consistent with the requirements of the House of Commons, the other conditions of service of staff in the House Departments are also kept broadly in line with those in the [F7statutory home civil service].

(3)The Commission shall ensure that the pensions and other similar benefits of staff in or formerly in the House Departments are kept in line with the provisions of [F8, or provided under,]the principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (as it applies for the time being to the [F7statutory home civil service]), but need not do so in the case of staff for whom provision for such benefits was made under another scheme before they entered service in the House Departments and continues to be so made in respect of such service.

(4)Subsection (1) above does not apply to the power to appoint, or the tenure of office of, the Clerk of the House of Commons, any Clerk Assistant, the Serjeant at Arms or Mr. Speaker’s personal staff.

[F9(5)The statutory home civil service” means the civil service (excluding Her Majesty's diplomatic service) within the meaning of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (see section 1(4) of that Act).]

[F103 Financial provisions.U.K.

(1)For each financial year the Commission shall prepare and lay before the House of Commons an estimate for that year of the use of resources for the service of the House of Commons.

(2)The Commission may appoint a member of the staff in the House Departments, to be known as the accounting officer, to be responsible for accounting for the use of resources for the service of the House of Commons.

(3)Subject to subsection (4), all fees and other sums payable to the House of Commons shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

(4)The Commission may, subject to any relevant limit set by an Appropriation Act—

(a)direct that resources to a specified value may be applied as an appropriation in aid of resources authorised by Parliament to be used for the service of a particular year, and

(b)make provision similar to section 2(3) to (5) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 about money received in connection with an appropriation in aid.

(5)In this section a reference to the use of resources is a reference to their expenditure, consumption or reduction in value.]

Textual Amendments

F10S. 3 substituted (22.12.2000) by 2000 c. 20, s. 29, Sch. 1 para. 17; S.I. 2000/3349, art. 2(f)

4 The House Departments. U.K.

(1)In this Act “House Departments” means—

(a)the Department of the Clerk of the House of Commons,

(b)the Department of the Speaker,

(c)the Department of the Serjeant at Arms,

(d)the Department of the Library,

(e)the Administration Department,

(f)the Department of the Official Report of the House of Commons,

and any other House Department provided for under subsection (3) below.

(2)In this section “the Department of the Official Report of the House of Commons” means that branch of the Department of the Speaker which immediately before the passing of this Act had the function of producing that report, and accordingly on that passing that branch shall become a separate department and shall cease to be part of the Department of the Speaker, without prejudice however to any power exercisable by the Commission in relation to either department under subsection (3) below.

(3)The Commission may from time to time—

(a)increase or reduce the number of House Departments,

(b)allocate functions to any House Department,

(c)for those purposes make such arrangements for and in connection with the creation, division, amalgamation or abolition of any House Department (including one created after the passing of this Act) as appear to the Commission expedient.

(4)The Commission may from time to time direct that all or any of the provisions of this Act relating to staff in the House Departments shall apply to any office or post which is not in a House Department but falls within subsection (5) below, and to the staff appointed, or to be appointed, to any such office or post, and may further direct that the holder of any such office or post shall be treated as having been appointed by the Commission.

(5)An office or post falls within this subsection if staff appointed to it are employed in or for the purposes of the House of Commons.

(6)Subsection (4) above does not apply to the power to appoint, or the tenure of office of, Mr. Speaker’s personal staff.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

5 Short title, etc.U.K.

(1)This Act may be cited as the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978.

(2)In this Act—

  • the Accounting Officer” has the meaning given by section 3(2) of this Act,

  • the Commission” means the House of Commons Commission,

  • House Departments” has the meaning given by section 4(1) of this Act.

(3)Schedule 2 to this Act (supplementary and consequential provisions) shall have effect.

(4)The enactments in Schedule 3 to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

(5)The following provisions of this Act, namely—

  • section 2,

  • paragraphs 3 to 5 of Schedule 2, and

  • Schedule 3,

shall not come into force until 1st January 1979.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C3S. 5 (4) is in the form in which it was originally enacted: it was not reproduced in Statutes in Force and does not reflect any amendments or repeals which may have been made prior to 1.2.1991

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.

Close

See additional information alongside the content

Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Timeline of Changes

This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.

Close

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • correction slips

Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:

  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • links to related legislation and further information resources