Officers of Parliament: recent developments

This Standard Note updates Research Paper 03/77 Officers of Parliament: A Comparative Perspective, in respect of developments at the UK level. Since the Research Paper was first published in October 2003, there has been growing interest in more parliamentary involvement in new bodies with some kind of constitutional role, such as the Judicial Appointments Committee or the Civil Service Commissioners. The advent of pre-appointment hearings by select committees introduced by the then Prime Minister Gordon Brown as part of the Governance of Britain agenda in 2008 also added to the pressure for parliamentary accountability felt by such bodies. Finally, the Coalition Government formed in 2010 continued to create new bodies with a special relationship with Parliament, such as the Office for Budget Responsibility and the proposed Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists.