Public Appointments and Accountability Act

Legislation that failed in the House of Commons.
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Sir Dylan Macmillan
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Public Appointments and Accountability Act

Post by Sir Dylan Macmillan »

Madam Speaker I beg leave to introduce the following Bill as a 10-Minute Rule Bill.
Public Appointments and Accountability Act 2001

An Act to expand the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments, and for related purposes.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Temporal and Spiritual, and Commons, in the present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows-:

Section 1 - Commissioner for Public Appointments Remit
(1) The remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments, as defined by Schedule 1 of the Public Appointments Order in Council 1995, shall be replaced by the following:
(a) Any non-governmental office or body appointed by the Sovereign, the Prime Minister, any Government Minister, or the Speaker of the House of Commons shall be regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
(b) A “non-governmental office or body” shall be defined as any office or body that is not
(i) A position in the Government that
(1) Is appointed by the Prime Minister,
(2) Answerable to a House of Parliament in Question Period, and
(3) Impeachable by the Parliament
(ii) A position in a ministerial office that does not have any power and is appointed by and accountable to the Secretary of State.

Section 2 - Committee on Standards in Public Life Remit
(1) The remit of the Committee on Standards for Public Life is expanded and clarified to include:
(a)The ability to inquire into the conduct of public officials elected, or accountable to, the Parliament of the United Kingdom and any devolved Assemblies
(b) The ability to inquire into the conduct of any Peer of the Realm serving in the House of Lords
(c) The ability to inquire into the conduct of any Civil Servant in the employ of Her Majesty’s Government or the Governments of Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland
(2) Where an official under Section 2(1) is accountable or in service of a devolved authority the Committee shall make its report to the devolved authority and submit a copy to Her Majesty’s Government
(3) Where an official under Section 2(1) has evidence of misconduct and corruption against them the Committee shall have the authority to relay charges to the courts whereupon the individual shall be indicted and a guilty verdict shall see the Member barred from sitting in accordance with subsection a(i) - a(iii)
(a) Section 2(3) is to be undertaken in a manor in accordance with the position of the guilty party such as:
(i) Compulsory by-election for a member of the House of Commons or a constituency member of a devolved assembly with the guilty party barred from restanding
(ii) Removal of the guilty party from the House of Lords and suspension of a period of time up to and including life
(iii) Removal of the guilty party from the list constituencies of a devolved legislature and their seat being occupied by the next candidate from the party’s list, with a by-election being called should there be no more candidates on the aforementioned list
(b) Punishments under Section 2(3) are to be construed as an inclusive list
(4) An official found guilty under Section 2(3) shall be barred from holding office for not less than 5 years with no maximum tariff, a prison sentence not exceeding 10 years and subject to a fine of an unlimited amount
(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed as removing existing powers from the Committee


Section 3 - Short title, extent, and commencement
(1) This Act may be cited as the “Public Appointments and Accountability Act 2001”;
(2) This Act shall come into force at the end of the period of one day beginning with the date on which it is passed.
(3) This Act shall extend to the whole United Kingdom.
NB: To view the Bill in a more visually acceptable way please see this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q-5 ... sp=sharing
Sir Dylan Macmillan
MP for North East Bedfordshire 2001 - Present

Shadow Chancellor 2016
Chancellor 2015
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 2014 - 2015
Leader of the House of Commons 2012 - 2014
Secretary of State for International Development 2010 - 2012
Conservative Party Chairman 2008 - 2010
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury 2005 - 2008
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