It took a scandal

Michael Heseltine famously entitled his report on the regeneration of the inner cities, "it took a riot", after the week long disturbances in Liverpool in 1981. Similarly, Vanessa Nicholls could have called her report on the running of the House of Commons, "it took a scandal". Commons administration has tended to be a closed world, unless, and until, something goes wrong, such as the expenses scandal or the arrest of Damian Green, the Tory MP and now minister. Much has changed since then:

• new rules on expenses have been introduced and are supervised by an external regulator IPSA
• catering subsidies have been cut and late payments eliminated
• clearer lines of accountability have been established
• the Speaker's office is being reorganised
• an outwarding looking and thought provoking five-year strategy has been published
• most senior officials of the House are also aware of the need to restore Parliament's reputation
• much more information, minutes of meetings etc, is put on the internet.

All this is welcome, but there is still a sense of a secret garden controlled by a few senior MPs and Commons officials. Despite greater transparency than in the past, accountability is limited - to MPs as much as to the public. The National Audit Office is involved in examining accounts, but on a more limited and discretionary basis than other public bodies - including from now on the Royal Household. As the report argues, audit should be on the same statutory basis as elsewhere to provide greater reassurance. This needs to be supplemented by fuller public accountability in which a Commons committee (possibly broadened) questions the key officials on their annual report. Partly this is a matter of emphasis and culture: a lot of the information exists but few MPs are interested in these issues of governance and administration. The annual debate on the Commission's report tends to be attended by a handul of MPs. MPs themselves, including the third of the Commons that was first elected in May, needs to take the running of the Commons more seriously. At present, MPs are preoccupied by IPSA and its failings. But that is only half the story. Reform of Commons governance is not yet complete.