Foreword to the Resource Accounts
Scope
The House of Lords' Administration
presents the accounts of the House of Lords for the financial
year ended 31st March 2002. The Resource Accounts consolidate
the House of Lords Peers' Expenses, Administration etc. Request
for Resources, including the House of Lords Refreshment Department,
and the Works Services Request for Resources. Information is also
included, by way of notes, on the House of Lords Security Fund,
the House of Lords Works of Art Collection Fund and the House
of Lords Refreshment Department trading activities.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the House of Lords' Administration
is to enable the House and its Members to carry out their Parliamentary
and judicial functions fully and effectively, and to give value
for money.
To achieve this aim, the House of
Lords' Administration works to provide facilities and services
in accordance with the requirements of the House and its Members.
Principal Activities
The House of Lords is the second Chamber
of the United Kingdom Parliament. It plays an important part in
revising legislation and scrutinising Government policy. The House
of Lords appoints a number of select committees which include
the European Union Committee (with 6 sub-committees), the Science
and Technology Committee (with 2 sub-committees), the Constitution
Committee, the Economic Affairs Committee, the Delegated Powers
and Regulatory Reform Committee and other ad-hoc committees.
The House of Lords is the ultimate
court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all cases except Scottish
criminal cases. This work is carried out by 12 Lords of Appeal
in Ordinary (Law Lords). The Law Lords also take part in the parliamentary
work of the House.
Members of the Lords are not elected
and are unpaid. They have a wide range of experience and provide
a source of independent expertise.
Significant events during the year
A Working Group of five Members, chaired
by the Chairman of Committees, was appointed in November 2001.
It put forward a detailed set of proposals for the improvement
of management and services. The Working Group reported in January
2002 and its recommendations can be summarised as follows:
- The Offices Committee should be
abolished and replaced by a new body called the House Committee,
whose functions would include approval of a five year strategic
plan for the House of Lords' administration; business plans to
implement the strategy; and scrutiny and approval of the estimates
and three year financial forecasts of House expenditure.
- There should be a Management Board,
chaired by the Clerk of the Parliaments, to assist the House Committee
and to exercise delegated authority in specific areas.
- The Finance and Staff sub-committee
should be abolished. Four domestic committees - Administration
and Works, Refreshment, Information and Works of Art - would
act primarily as user groups, charged with making policy recommendations
on issues within their remit.
- An Audit Committee should be appointed.
The recommendations were approved
by the House in June 2002, and the new committee structure was
implemented at the beginning of the 2002-03 Session of Parliament.
The Government published a White Paper:
The House of Lords - Completing the Reform in November
2001. This accepted the recommendations of the Royal Commission
on Reform of the House of Lords but with modifications. The Government
invited views on the White Paper by 31st January 2002
and a debate on the White Paper was held on 9th &
10th January.
Important events which have occurred
since the financial year end
With regard to further reform of the
House of Lords, on 13th May 2002 the Lord Chancellor
and the Leader of the House of Commons announced the appointment
of a Joint Committee, in order to "forge the broadest possible
parliamentary consensus on the way forward". The Joint Committee
was asked as a first step "to report on options for the composition
and powers of the House of Lords once reform has been completed".
The Committee, comprising 12 Members of each House, met for the
first time in July 2002. On 9th December 2002 the Joint
Committee published a report setting out seven options for the
future composition of the House of Lords.
In July 2002 the House approved, with
amendments, a series of proposals on the working practices of
the House put forward by a Group of six Members, chaired by the
Leader of the House. Changes were implemented from the new session
in November 2002. They include a sitting time of 11.00am (instead
of 3.00pm) on Thursdays; greater use of Grand Committees; agreement
that the House should normally rise not later than 10.00pm; and
the introduction of sittings in September, coupled with longer
recesses at other times of the year. These changes will have
important consequences for the administration of the House.
House of Lords Annual Report
The House of Lords Annual Report (HL
Paper 153) provides an overview of the work of the House of Lords
in 2001-02, including a review of the year; reports from the offices
of the House of Lords; and statistical information. It is published
on behalf of the House of Lords by The Stationery Office and
is available via bookshops and on the internet (www.parliament.uk)
OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW
The House of Lords Administration's
outturn on net total resources for 2001-02 was £71,449,000,
which was £7,484,000 less than the Estimate. The main explanations
for this variation against the Estimate are:
- The dissolution of Parliament
prior to the June 2001 general election meant that expenditure
was lower than expected; and
- Non-cash expenditure was less
than estimated.
Against the net cash requirement,
outturn of £56,862,000 was £2,901,000 less than the
Estimate.
In February 2001 the Senior Salaries
Review Body recommended substantial increases in the amounts Peers
can reclaim for reimbursement of expenses. These recommendations
were implemented by Resolution of the House with effect from the
opening of the new Parliament on 20th June 2001. Due
to the dissolution of Parliament, fewer claims for expenses were
made in 2001-02; however, higher expenditure is anticipated in
2002-03. Additionally, in accordance
with a recommendation of the Senior
Salaries Review Body, the Finance and Staff Sub-Committee approved,
with effect from 20th October 2001, the introduction
of free postage for Members in connection with House of Lords'
business.
Real improvements in the accommodation
and facilities provided for Members were achieved in 2001-02.
Accommodation in 7 Little College Street was opened in December
2000 and further accommodation was opened in Millbank House in
October 2001. Additional accommodation was also made available
to Peers in the Palace of Westminster and 7 Old Palace Yard following
the relocation of the Committee, Computer and Accountant's Offices
to Millbank House. As a result of these developments, 630 Lords
now have access to a desk and associated facilities.
In practice, it is possible for almost
all Members of the House who request a desk to be given one without
delay, although much of the accommodation remains crowded, especially
within the Palace. In September 2001, the House successfully completed
the purchase of Fielden House in Little College Street on a long
term lease. Refurbishment will begin in 2003 with a view to occupation
in October 2004.
Following the terrorist attacks in
the USA in September 2001, Black Rod and the Serjeant at Arms
in the House of Commons, in consultation with the Metropolitan
Police, carried out a thorough review of security. A range of
measures was proposed and implemented, including improvements
in security at the access points in New Palace Yard and Black
Rod's Garden and the introduction of armed police at certain points
within the Palace.
MANAGEMENT
During the year, overall financial
control was vested in the Finance and Staff Sub-Committee of the
House of Lords Offices Committee on which members from all sides
of the House were represented, including the Party Leaders and
the Convenor of the Cross-bench Peers.
The Offices Committee considered and reported on
all domestic affairs of the House. These included the accommodation
and services provided for the House, its members and staff, the
staffing of the offices of the Clerk of the Parliaments and the
Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, and the salaries and conditions
of service of the staff.
Members of the House of Lords, except
those in receipt of a salary as a Minister, Office Holder or Lord
of Appeal in Ordinary, are entitled to recover the costs of travel,
subsistence and secretarial assistance incurred in relation to
their parliamentary duties. They are not employees of the House
of Lords and do not receive a parliamentary salary. The Peers'
Reimbursement Allowance Scheme is outlined in Appendix F of the
Annual Report (HL Paper 153). Lords Ministers and Office Holders
may claim certain travel and secretarial allowances in accordance
with Resolutions of the House.
Three Members of the House receive
a salary from the House of Lords' Administration Request for Resources.
The posts and salaries as at 31st March 2002 were as
follows:
| Lord Chancellor (as Speaker of the House of Lords)
| £24,342
|
| Chairman of Committees (including £1,507 London Supplement)
| £71,790
|
| Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees
(including £1,507 London Supplement)
| £67,133
|
The Accounting Officer and, in accordance
with the Parliamentary Corporate Bodies Act 1992, the Corporate
Officer of the House of Lords is the Clerk of the Parliaments,
Sir Michael Davies. He is appointed by Her Majesty by Letters
Patent and can be removed from office only by the Sovereign upon
an address of the House of Lords for that purpose.
The salary of the Clerk of Parliaments
is linked to Judicial Salary Group 4; salaries of the three Office
Holders shown above are reviewed and adjusted annually in line
with Senior Civil Service pay. Details on the remuneration of
senior officials are in note 2 to the accounts. Additional information
can also be found in Appendix G of the House of Lords Annual Report
2001-02 (HL Paper 153).
Public Interest and Other
Equal Opportunities
The House of Lords is committed to
providing equal opportunity for all staff, regardless of gender,
marital status, age, race, colour, disability, religious affiliation
or sexual orientation. This policy is in line with Civil Service
Policy statements, UK legislation on equality of opportunity and
equal pay, and EU law.
Payments to Suppliers
The House of Lords is committed to
the Better Payment Practice Code. The policy is that all bills
should be paid in accordance with credit terms, or where no such
terms exist, within 30 days of the receipt of the goods or services,
or the presentation of a valid invoice, whichever is the later.
Payments with regard to Works Services are made in the first instance
by the House of Commons Finance Office. The House of Lords Refreshment
Department also makes payments on behalf of the House of Lords.
The calculation of payment performance
for 2001-02 has been based on continuous monitoring of payments
throughout the year and on this basis 97.27% of payments made
by the House of Lords met the policy criteria.
Auditor
The Comptroller and Auditor General
is the external auditor for the House of Lords.
J. M. Davies
Clerk of the Parliaments and Accounting
Officer
29th January 2003
| 
