Most people associate the House of Commons with MPs, political debate and media stories of unacceptable behaviour. Few people know much about how the house is run. A BBC2 documentary has shed some light on this, but the inner governance arrangements are likely to remain a mystery to most citizens.
In 2013 I joined the house’s management board as a non-executive director, and became chair of the two house audit committees. The board currently has nine members, including two non-executive members. It manages the services provided for the house by the various house departments. The House of Commons commission delegates powers to the board. The commission is chaired by the speaker and has five politicians as members. It has no non-executive members.
