Concern over 'political insiders' to be hired on £300 a day to help MPs clean up Parliament

Exclusive: Parliament is now advertising for four more lay members, which will mean there are seven members of the public and seven MPs on the committee

Ordinary members of the public could be prevented from joining Parliament's standards watchdog because only those who understand the "context" of MPs' work are likely to be hired.

The wording of the job advertisement for four new members of public to join the House of Commons committee on standards has led to fears that only "political insiders" who are sympathetic to MPs will be appointed.

The House of Commons Committee on Standards has reformed itself after a number of criticisms over the way it has disciplined senior MPs who were accused of wrongdoing including Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Jack Straw and Maria Miller.

The first three independent “lay” members were only allowed onto the committee in March 2013, four years after the expenses scandal exposed by The Daily Telegraph laid low the reputation of Parliament.

Parliament is now advertising for four more lay members, which will mean there are seven members of the public and seven MPs on the committee

The advert for the job, which pays £300 a day, says successful applicants will have a “proven ability to consider and review large amounts of information to come to sound evidence-based judgements which take account of codes of conduct, rules or organisational context”.

It adds: "Personal qualities will also be important as you will need confidence and strength of character to manage situations, both assertively and sensitively and also to be resilient."

It says: "If you are interested in the health of our democracy and want to play a part in helping to ensure that the public can be confident that MPs are subjective to effective scrutiny then this might be an opportunity for you."

Jack Straw, former Foreign Secretary

The closing date for applications is noon on Monday 16 November. Interviews will take place in January.

Sir Kevin Barron (below), the committee's chairman who sits on the recruitment panel, said: "The lay members have become an integral part of the Committee and we were very pleased that the House as a whole agreed with our recommendation to increase their number to seven.

“We are looking forward to welcoming the new lay members who will add to the diversity of experience around the table and so help to improve our work.

“We have no preconceived ideas about the backgrounds lay members should come from and are interested in candidates from across the country.

“Lay members need independence, objectivity and resilience, and the ability to get their views across clearly.”

Sir Kevin Barron

However campaigning Labour MP John Mann said he was concerned that asking applicants to be aware of the “context” of being on the committee risked only political insiders being appointed.

He said: “It all suggest that it will cosy – hopefully. We want people from the real world. We don’t just need political insiders.”

“It would be good to have the working class woman from Bermondsey giving the view from Bermondsey in that committee.

“That might balance it up a bit and the expenses are very cheap from there because it is only a bus ride away.

“The less control MPs have on this the better. It is a move in the right direction but have to make sure we do not end up with the usual suspects getting appointed. Friends of Parliament appointed by Parliament.”

A House of Commons spokesman said: “The Committee on Standards is not responsible for the appointment of lay members to the Committee. The independent panel recruiting these new members is chaired by Sheila Drew Smith, a member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

"The reference to 'organisational context' is clearly not about Parliament. The only requirement in terms of Parliamentary knowledge is that applicants should have ‘a general understanding of Parliament’s role in an elective democracy’.”

Earlier this year Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind, both former foreign secretaries, were found not to have breached Parliament’s rules by the committee despite a Telegraph investigation finding that the two MPs had offered to use their positions as politicians on behalf of a fictitious Chinese company in return for payments of at least £5,000 per day.

Kathryn Hudson, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found that "there was no breach of the rules on paid lobbying" after accepting assurances from Sir Malcolm and Mr Straw that they were speaking "off the cuff" and were not intending to back up their words in meetings with actual actions.

Maria Miller also quit as Culture secretary in 2014 after being cleared of funding a home for her parents at taxpayers' expense, but being told to repay £5,800 of the expenses she claimed.

HOW TO APPLY

Wanted: Lay member to work on the House of Commons Committee on Standards

Pay: £300 per day for an eight hour shift (proportionate to actual hours worked)

Closing date: Noon, Monday 16 November

Process: Longlist 3 December; Short list 11 January 2016; Interviews 27 and 28 January 2016

Job specification: Independence, objectivity and resilience, and an ability to get views across clearly.

Experience required: A proven ability to consider and review large amounts of information to come to sound evidence-based judgements which take account of codes of conduct, rules or organisational context. Confidence, resilience and strength of character required to manage situations, both assertively and sensitively.

How to apply: Click here

http://www.houseofcommons-appointments.com/job/