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Select Committee on Standards and Privileges Seventh Report

Written evidence received by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards

1. Letter to the Commissioner from Mr Noel Adams, 11 April 2007

Having had a look at the Register of Members' Interests I feel there is a possible issue with regard to Gregory Campbell E. Londonderry. His income from Derry City Council and the Assembly was only registered on 13.03.07, not June 2001.

In and of itself this might be a minor matter, now put right. However there is a clear rule in standards that an MP will not take part in any proceeding of the House or committee if a relevant interest has not been declared.

On 07.11.05 Mr Campbell was at the N.Ireland committee when RPA was on the agenda. This involved changes in local government that directly affected his paid position with Derry City Council. As this was not registered at the time the Commissioner might take a view that the matter is worth looking into.

11 April 2007

2. Paragraph 65 of the Guide to the Rules

Members of Select Committees on any matter or Bill are bound by the Resolution of the House of 13th July 1992 which approved certain paragraphs of a Report by the Select Committee on Members' Interests relating to the financial interests of Chairmen and members of Select Committees.[16] The main provisions are:

before the Committee proceeds to the election of a Chairman all Members nominated to serve upon a Select Committee are required to send to the Clerk of the Committee details of any pecuniary interests for circulation to the Committee under the authority of the senior Member before its first meeting. The procedure is not necessary in the case of Select Committees of a wholly procedural nature. [Paragraph 25]

"when a member of a Committee, particularly the Chairman, has a pecuniary interest which is directly affected by a particular inquiry or when he or she considers that a personal interest may reflect upon the work of the Committee or its subsequent Report, the Member should stand aside from the Committee proceedings relating to it." [Paragraph 24]

"before proceeding to business after the election of the Chairman, the Chairman of the Committee should invite all members of the Committee to declare any interests they may have which relate to the terms of reference of that Committee, or which are likely to be relevant to a substantial part of the work which the Committee may be expected to undertake". [Paragraph 13]

"A Member should make a declaration of interest at an early stage in any inquiry to which that interest particularly relates. If the interest is especially relevant to one witness or group of witnesses appearing before the Committee, the interest should be declared again at the appropriate session of evidence". [Paragraph 13]

A Member is required to "declare an interest when asking any questions which relate directly, or which might reasonably be thought by others to relate directly, to the pecuniary interest he or she holds ... Such a declaration must be made irrespective of any declaration having been made at an earlier meeting of the Committee". One such declaration is sufficient for any questions asked of the same witnesses during one evidence Session. [Paragraph 13]

"Although the main purpose of declaration of interest is to inform colleagues, it is right that witnesses and the public, if the Committee is meeting in public, should also be informed. When a Committee meets in public, declaration of interest should be in public Session. When a Committee meets in private and regularly takes oral evidence, declaration should be made when witnesses are present." [Paragraph 13]

"In making any declaration a Member should clearly identify the nature of the pecuniary interest. The form in which a declaration of interest is made, and its extent, must be primarily for the individual Member." A casual reference is not sufficient. "A Member should make a declaration in clear terms and should ensure that such a declaration is entered in the Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee." [Paragraph 14]

It is "perfectly acceptable for a Member, when declaring an interest which is registered in the Register of Members' Interests ... to refer to his or her entry in the Register". [Paragraph 16]

"we stress the importance of declaration when relevant and of declaring a pecuniary interest at the moment when it is most appropriate to do so. We do not wish to create a situation where the proceedings of Committees are frequently interrupted by declarations of tangential relevance to what is being considered ... the interests that a Member is required to register may not be at all relevant to his or her work on the Select Committee and consequently may never need to be declared during its proceedings." [Paragraph 16]

3. Letter to Mr Gregory Campbell from the Commissioner, 18 April 2007

I enclose a copy of a letter and associated papers that I have received from Mr Adams, in which he in effect makes a complaint against you on the following grounds.

i) that you became a Member of Parliament in 2001 but did not record your remunerated position as a Member of the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly and as a Councillor for Londonderry in the Register of Members' Interests until 13 March 2007; and

ii) that you failed to declare your relevant interest as a Councillor at the meetings of the Select Committee on Northern Ireland, of which you are a member, held on 29 November and 7 December 2005. (Mr Adams's letter refers to a meeting of the Committee on 7 November 2005, although there was in fact no meeting on that date. The papers he enclosed with his letter refer, however, to the other two dates I have mentioned.)

From preliminary inquiries I have undertaken, I understand that:

a) You have been a member of the Assembly since 1998 and of Londonderry City Council since 1981;

b) neither of these interests was notified to this office until you sent an e-mail to me dated 10 March 2007.

c) At its meetings on 29 November and 7 December 2005, the Northern Ireland Select Committee considered the Review of Public Administration (RPA) in Northern Ireland.

d) The recommendations of the Review would, if accepted, have significantly reduced the number and size of councils in Northern Ireland, as well as affecting their likely political composition.

e) There is no record of you having declared your Councillorship at either of those Committee meetings.

f) Nor did you declare either interest to other members of the Committee when it met for the first time following the 2005 election.

Paragraph 16 of the Code of Conduct approved by the House provides:

'Members shall fulfil conscientiously the requirements of the House in respect of the registration of interests in the Register of Members' Interests and shall always draw attention to any relevant interest in any proceeding of the House or its Committee, or in any communications with Ministers, Government Departments or Executive Agencies."

Paragraph 11 of the Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct of Members (HC351, Session 2005-06) provides that Members are required to submit a form notifying the Registrar of their registrable interests within 3 months of their election to the House.

Paragraph 65 of the Guide contains a number of requirements relating to the declaration of interests in Select Committees of the House. I have sidelined those which appear most relevant on the enclosed extract from the Guide. Their thrust is that Members should declare any relevant pecuniary or personal interest they have which is relevant to the work of a Select Committee, both when the Committee first meets and on any relevant subsequent occasions, especially when witnesses are present.

In the light of these points, I should be grateful if you will let me have your response to Mr Adam's complaint, in accordance with the procedures for handling complaints approved by the House.

I enclose a note setting out these procedures, which I routinely send to all Members who are the subject of a complaint.

If you would like a word at any point about the complaint, please do not hesitate to ring me on the number above. Once I have received your response, I will decide how best to proceed.

19 April 2007

4. Letter to Mr Gregory Campbell from the Commissioner, 16 May 2007

As a month has passed since I wrote to you about this complaint, I am writing to enquire whether you are yet able to respond to Mr Adams's complaint?

I take this opportunity also to apologise for an error in my letter of 18 April. Further enquiries have disclosed that you did register your membership of Londonderry City Council in the Register of Members' Interests published in November 2001. You also registered your membership of the Northern Ireland Assembly in the Register published in November of the following year.

However, both memberships were omitted when the new Register was prepared following the 2005 General Election. You provided a nil return when that Register was drawn up (it was published in November 2005). The entries were re-instated in the Register published in March 2007.

The complaint by Mr Adams in this respect properly relates therefore to your failure to register these interests between the beginning of the current Parliament and 10 March 2007 when you asked my office to make an appropriate Register entry.

I hope this clarification is helpful and look forward to hearing from you shortly.

16 May 2007

5. Letter to the Commissioner from Mr Gregory Campbell, 22 May 2007

Thank you for your letter dated 18^th April 2007.

Mr Adams' assertion falls into two categories and therefore I shall respond to each.

His first point is that my "income from Derry City Council and the Assembly was only registered on 13.03.07, not June 2001". I assume this refers to membership as the income from membership of both is in the public domain and as I understand the requirements, it is membership rather than income from the membership which should be disclosed. Mr Adams' inference that I did not disclose membership of both Council and Assembly before 2001 is factually incorrect as the Register of Members Interest entry against my name as listed on the House of Commons internet site for 2002 indicates that I entered both memberships. His complaint regarding my having "only registered on 13.03.07" is therefore without foundation.

The second issue relates to the discussion of the Review of Public Administration at the NI Affairs Select Committee. The meetings referred to did not constitute an Investigation. Indeed the Review of Public Administration report had just been issued when the NI Committee were visiting Northern Ireland and the Committee took the opportunity to get a briefing on the concluded report. An examination of the minutes of the meetings at which this was discussed indicates this.

I find it somewhat odd that Mr Adams wrote to you on 11/4/07 about a Committee hearing that took place 17 months before, of which Mr Adams as a member of the Campaign for Labour to organise in Northern Ireland was fully aware.

I hope this has been helpful, I apologise for the delay in replying.

22 May 2007

6. Letter to the Commissioner from Mr Gregory Campbell, 19 June 2007

Thank you for your letter dated 8 June.

I wish to make just a few points regarding your investigation into the complaint by Mr Adams.

I fail to see the validity of a charge which clearly states that my income (and thereby membership) from the Assembly and the Council was "only registered on 13/3/07, not June 2001". This is totally and incontrovertibly NOT THE CASE. The fact that you have admitted the charge is factually incorrect, but still wish to proceed seems bizarre.

On the issue of registration, income of £9,500 from the City Council only began to be paid to me from April 2007, not when the alleged "unregistration" occurred.

When the Committee on Standards and Privileges receives your formal report I trust I will be given the opportunity to respond.

19 June 2007

7. Letter to Mr Gregory Campbell from the Commissioner, 21 June 2007

I write formally to thank you for your letter of 19 June in reply to mine of 8 June about this complaint. Now that I have been able to study it I have one query to put to you, which I hope will be quickly resolved.

You say:

"On the issue of registration, income of £9,500 from the City Council only began to be paid to me from April 2007, not when the alleged "unregistration" occurred."

I am not clear whether you received no income at all from the City Council prior to April 2007, or merely a sum below £9,500. I should be grateful if you would tell me what sums you received from the Council, if any, during the period between 2001 when you entered the House and April 2007.

You ask if you will be given the opportunity to respond when my report goes to the Committee on Standards and Privileges. The answer is 'yes'. I am enclosing the relevant procedural note, by way of a reminder of the process.

A speedy reply to my query would be helpful.

21 June 2007

8. Letter to the Commissioner from Mr Gregory Campbell, 3 July 2007

Further to your letter dated 21 June.

Prior to April 2007 local councillors were paid a fixed amount plus an attendance allowance. I understand the fixed amount for the year immediately preceding this one was approximately £4,000 pa, the attendance allowance was £22 for any approved duty/meetings in any 24 hour period. I do not recall the figures for the years before that. My average earnings as a councillor in the years between 2001 and 2006 were about £6,000 p.a.

3 July 2007