Plans to reform parliamentary procedures

Wants a more efficient parliament...

There should be greater public consultation...

Taylor Initiates Commons Reform

Commons leader Ann Taylor has outlined further wide-ranging ways of modernising parliamentary procedure, designed to help MPs work more effectively. Mrs Taylor announced that a modernising committee will be set up to examine the workings of the house.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mrs Taylor said, "What we want to see is parliament working more effectively and parliament working more efficiently, I think everyone is conscious that there are many traditions in parliament, some of them serve a purpose and some of them don't, but really very often MPs are not always able to do the job that they want..."

One major change already agreed upon is that the Government will establish a record number of Draft Bills to allow more time for public scrutiny and allow consultation with relevant parties and pressure groups.

"Too often in the past there have been areas where there has been cross-party agreement on some issues, the Child Support Agency is the classic case in point, the government didn't consult properly, allow opposition or backbenchers to take part in consideration of that issue and therefore it got it wrong and we have to go back an revisit the issue and it's still not quite right...with early consultation it's more likely we'll get those areas of legislation on course," she said.

Issues to be covered in this way include the setting up of a food standards agency, introducing a ban on tobacco advertising and bringing in freedom of information legislation.

Mrs Taylor said she also wanted the committee to look at ways to hold ministers more to account and ways make the best use of parliamentary time. This could include altering the timetable for "set-piece' debates such as those on the budget or Queens speech. "There is a feeling that, while it is good to reinforce our parliamentary traditions, we might be able to modify some aspect of them without any loss of ceremony and dignity", she said.