What is the Committee on Standards?

The Committee on Standards is the parliamentary committee that looks at cases put before it by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards  concerning breaches of the House of Commons’ Code of Conduct by MPs. The Committee can disagree with the Commissioner.

The Committee decides any particular sanction for MPs. Where possible, the Committee tries to use existing precedent to decide appropriate sanctions. This decision then goes to the Commons for approval.

The Committee on Standards was created in 2013 as a means of allowing lay members – non-MPs – to sit on the Committee. It consists of seven MPs (designed to be representative of opinion in the House of Commons, which means four Conservatives, two Labour and one SNP member) as well as seven ‘lay’ members.

Read more about parliamentary standards and MPs’ behaviour here.

Read more about the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards here.