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Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

Schedule 1 contains provisions relating to the membership of the new Civil Service Commission—the hon. Gentleman mentioned that—and the other issues relating to the appointments that I referred to a moment ago. He asked about the commission's financial independence. Provisions provide for the commission to publish and lay before Parliament an annual report, as has been discussed. As now, that can include a summary of information on the funding of the commission. That is an obvious vehicle for the commission to bring forward any concerns that it might have about the adequacy of its funding or any comments that it wishes to make on the funding. Indeed, an exceptional or special report could be prepared to address those particular concerns.