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Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

It is embarrassing to see so much cynicism in just one hon. Member. The report is to be made to Parliament and it will be for Parliament to make a judgment on whether it thought the funding was adequate. I do not think that Parliament would wish to take action against the commission in any way at all; I think that Parliament would expect the commission to make a response on the adequacy of its funding. Obviously, the Government are bringing this forward, making sure that there is full independence for the commission and putting it into statute, so they want the commission to be an independent body and to function well. I can, thus, allay the hon. Gentleman's fears on that account. The provisions in the Bill do not, in any way, affect the commissioner's access to the Public Administration Committee. That is an important and influential safeguard for the commissioner's role in regulating the Executive. As the hon. Gentleman mentioned, the Joint Committee recommended two amendments to the draft Bill's schedule in respect of commissioners. The first was for a requirement that the commissioners should be appointed on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition. The second was that compensation for loss of office should be extended to all commissioners, rather than just the first commissioner. The Government accepted both those recommendations, and the published schedule to the Bill incorporates those amendments. In addition, the Minister for the Civil Service must consult the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales and the relevant Opposition leaders. Question put and agreed to. Schedule 1 accordingly agreed to.