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Role - Administration Committee

The Administration Committee considers the services provided for Members, their staff and visitors by the House of Commons Service and makes recommendations to the House of Commons Commission, the Speaker and Officials.

About the Committee

The Committee has a cross-party membership of eleven backbench members and, since 2015, is chaired by the member of the Committee who sits on the House of Commons Commission. It has weekly private meetings and occasional public evidence sessions, details of which can be found on the Committee's homepage

The Committee was established under Standing Order 139.

Work of the Committee

The Administration Committee, one of the House's inward-facing 'Domestic Committees', is an advisory committee to the House of Commons Commission. Its work covers a wide range of topics including:

  • Catering and banqueting; 
  • Visitor services and retail;  
  • Digital services;
  • the broadcasting of Parliament;
  • Education and public outreach and engagement;
  • rules of access and use of facilities; and
  • the management of the buildings and facilities which make up the Parliamentary Estate.

The aim of the Committee is to help ensure that the services provided to Members, their staff, and visitors to Parliament meet the various needs of each group as well as offering value for money.

In addition to its advisory role the Committee is also empowered, from time to time, to make rules (such as on the booking of rooms) and give directions to Officials of the House in relation to specific areas within the Committee's remit (such as filming on the Estate). 

The Committee also works closely with the Finance Committee, another advisory committee that considers expenditure on services for the House of Commons. When considering matters which affect both Houses of Parliament, these two committees work with their equivalents in the House of Lords (The House of Lords Services Committee and House of Lords Finance Committee).

Read the remit of the Administration Committee for the 2019 Parliament.

Contact us

If you have any comments or questions about our work, please get in touch by emailing ac@parliament.uk. We look forward to hearing from you, and thank you for taking the time to find out more about the Administration Committee.

 

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