1. EU scrutiny: working with the
House of Commons
Sarah Davies
Clerk of the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee

2. Who we are
• Hannah Finer, Second Clerk (European Committee debates)
• Clerk Advisers: Terry Byrne, Leigh Gibson, David Griffiths,
Peter Harborne
• Legal Advisers: Paul Hardy and Joanne Dee
• Admin team: Julie Evans, Jane Lauder, Alex Hunter (logging
documents), John Graddon, Paula Saunderson
• ESCOM email address

3. What the Committee does
• Examines every document (A/B/C briefs)
• Weekly meetings and reports
• Occasional oral evidence and reports on particular
issues
• Current scrutiny inquiry

4. Documents covered
• Draft Regulations, Directives and Council Decisions
• Later stages of legislation
• Budgetary documents
• Commission Communications such as Green and White
Papers
• Inter-institutional documents such as Reports of the Court of
Auditors
• CFSP Council Decisions

5. Explanatory Memoranda
• Comprehensive, covering legal base, impact on UK law,
subsidiarity, policy and financial implications etc.
• Cabinet Office guidance, and...
• Two top tips:
– An EM should be able to be read without additional
background documentation
– It should tell us what the Government‟s view is on a
proposal, as well as about the proposal itself.

6. Scrutiny Committee‟s consideration
• Do we have enough information?
• Is the document of political or legal importance?
• Should we ask a Departmental Select Committee for an
Opinion?
• Should the document be debated?
– If so, Floor or European Committee?

7. Scrutiny Reserve Resolution
• Constrains Ministers
– from giving agreement to any proposal or decisions not
cleared by the Committee
– from giving agreement to any proposal or decision awaiting
agreement by the House
• Exceptions: routine or trivial; Committee‟s agreement; „special
reasons‟
• Six-monthly reports from the Cabinet Office detailing overrides
• Oral evidence sessions following overrides

8. European Committees
• Three committees: A, B and C
• Debate documents referred by the European Scrutiny
Committee
• Ad Hoc members, but ESC and relevant DSC represented.
Any Member of the House may attend, speak and move
amendments
• ESC “rapporteur” introduces the document
• 1 hour of questions
• 1½ hours of debate
• Amendments

9. Proceedings in the House
• Motions without debate
• Debates

10. Other aspects of scrutiny
• Pre-and post-Council scrutiny
• National Parliament Office in Brussels
• Lisbon Treaty developments: yellow and orange cards, opt-ins
and opt-outs, engagement with National parliaments

11. EU scrutiny: working with the House of Commons
• Sarah Davies
• Clerk of the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee