Clerk of the Parliaments
{{Short description|Chief clerk of the House of Lords}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{for multi|the Canadian office|Clerk of the Senate of Canada|the Australian office which formerly used this title|Clerk of the Australian Senate}}
{{Infobox Political post
|post = Clerk
|body = the Parliaments
|nativename =
|insignia = Crowned Portcullis redesign 2018.svg
|insigniasize = 100px
|insigniacaption = The Crowned Portcullis
|department = Clerk of the Parliaments' Office
|image = File:Simon Burton 2014.jpg
|incumbent = Simon Burton
|incumbentsince = 2 April 2021
|style =
|residence =
|nominator =
|nominatorpost =
|appointer = Monarch of the United Kingdom
|termlength =
|first = John Kirkby
|formation = 1315
|succession =
|deputy =
|salary =
|website =
}}
The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The position has existed since at least 1315, and duties include preparing the minutes of Lords proceedings, advising on proper parliamentary procedure and pronouncing royal assent. Many of the Clerk's duties are now fulfilled by his deputies and the Clerk of the Parliaments' Office.
The Under Clerk of the Parliaments is the formal name for the Clerk of the House of Commons.{{cite web |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1992/27/section/2 |title=Parliamentary Corporate Bodies Act 1992, Section 2 |work=The National Archives |quote="The individual who for the time being is by letters patent appointed to the office of the Under Clerk of the Parliaments (and who is customarily referred to as the Clerk of the House of Commons) shall be the Corporate Officer of the Commons." |accessdate=14 January 2017}}
The term Clerk of the Parliaments is also used as a formal alternative title by the Clerk of the Senate of Canada{{cite web |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/compilations/officersandofficials/ProceduralOfficersAndSeniorOfficials_Senate.aspx |title=Officers and Officials of Parliament |work=Parliament of Canada |accessdate=14 January 2017 |archive-date=28 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628112619/http://parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/compilations/OfficersAndOfficials/ProceduralOfficersAndSeniorOfficials_Senate.aspx |url-status=dead }} and the Clerks of the Legislative Councils of New South Wales{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/LCStructure |title=Structure of the Department of the Legislative Council |work=Parliament of New South Wales |accessdate=19 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206093911/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/LCStructure |archivedate=6 December 2010 }} and Western Australia.{{Cite web |url=http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/WebCMS/WebCMS.nsf/resources/file-26-clerks-of-the-houses/$file/26%20-Clerks%20of%20the%20House.pdf |title=Clerks of the Houses |work=Parliament of Western Australia |accessdate=14 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118035146/http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/WebCMS/WebCMS.nsf/resources/file-26-clerks-of-the-houses/$file/26%20-Clerks%20of%20the%20House.pdf |archive-date=18 January 2017 |url-status=dead }} In the Australian state of Victoria the title is given to the longer-serving of the Clerks of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly.{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/assembly/publications-a-research/fact-sheets/2-legislative-assembly/articles/2492-fact-sheet-h3 |title=Fact Sheet H3: The Clerk |work=Parliament of Victoria |accessdate=14 January 2017}} The title was also formerly used for the Clerk of the Australian Senate{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/exhibitions/pogg/work/administration.htm |title=Administration - The Parliamentary Departments |website=Parliament of Australia |year=2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106042610/http://aph.gov.au/exhibitions/pogg/work/administration.htm |archivedate=6 January 2011 |accessdate=14 January 2017}}{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/pubs/aso/so_137.htm |title=Chapter 20 - Bills: 137 Presentation for assent |website=Parliament of Australia |year=2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505210522/http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/pubs/aso/so_137.htm |archivedate=5 May 2010 |accessdate=14 January 2017}} and the longer-serving of the Clerks of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly of South Australia.{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/AboutParliament/From1836/Documents/StatisticalRecordoftheLegislature1836to20093.pdf |title=Statistical Record of the Legislature 1836-2007 |website=Parliament of South Australia |year=2007 |accessdate=14 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190311113513/http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/AboutParliament/From1836/Documents/StatisticalRecordoftheLegislature1836to20093.pdf |archive-date=11 March 2019 |url-status=dead }}
History
The position has existed since at least 1315, when records from the parliament held by Edward II at Lincoln make reference to a clerk nominated by the king to serve as a "special deputy".Macqueen (1842) p.63 This clerk was tasked with reading out the titles of bills and the responses from Parliament. In later parliaments starting with those under Richard II, the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery would read the titles, and the Clerk of the Parliaments the responses.Pollard (1942) p.314 The actual term Clerk of the Parliaments did not come into use until the reign of Henry VIII, and the plural (parliaments, rather than Parliament) signifies that it is a life appointment – the clerk is appointed for all parliaments, not just the one currently sitting. On 12 March 1660 a deputy clerk was appointed for the first time after the clerk (Mr Bowyer) was too ill to attend Parliament.Macqueen (1842) p.64 The Clerk of the Parliaments Act 1824 defined the clerk's duties for the first time in statute, and the act is still in force and binding on current clerks.{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/faq/lords_cofp.cfm |title=The Clerk of the Parliaments: Role and Functions |website=Houses of Parliament |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015151956/http://www.parliament.uk/faq/lords_cofp.cfm |archivedate=15 October 2009 |accessdate=14 January 2017}}
Appointment and duties
The Clerk of the Parliaments is appointed by letters patent from the sovereign, who also holds the sole power to remove him or her.The Stationery Office (2007) p.18 The Clerk has a variety of tasks within the House of Lords. Appointees were originally ecclesiastical figures, although the nineteenth century saw a shift towards members of the legal profession.Macqueen (1842) p.65 He is assisted by two other clerks – the Clerk Assistant and the Reading Clerk.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/81958.stm |title=Clerk of the Parliaments |date=14 August 2008 |work=BBC News |accessdate=31 August 2009}}
The Clerk of the Parliaments, or another clerk, sits in the chamber at the table of the house during sittings, and calls on items of business. At the start of a sitting all three table clerks (Clerk of the Parliaments, Clerk Assistant and Reading Clerk) are normally present. When at the table the Clerk wears court dress (including a tail coat and waistcoat), a gown and a wig. The wig worn by the Clerk of the Parliaments is a bench wig as worn by a High Court judge; other clerks wear a barrister's wig.{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/house-lords-administration/how-the-lords-is-run/lords-administration/clerk-of-parliaments-office/ |title=The Clerk of the Parliaments Office |website=Houses of Parliament |accessdate=14 January 2017}} Male clerks wear a wing collar and white bow tie, and female clerks bands as worn by barristers.
As well as providing advice on procedure, the clerk also prepares the minutes of proceedings in the Lords, signs all official documents and communications, returns bills to the House of Commons and pronounces royal assent.The Stationery Office (2007) p.19 The clerk also supervises several offices, including his own (the Clerk of the Parliaments' Office), Black Rod's Department, which deals with security in the Lords, the Committee Office, which gives legal and procedural advice to committees within the Lords, and formerly (until 2009) the Judicial Office, which advised and assisted the Law Lords.The Stationery Office (2007) p.21 Since the nineteenth century many of these duties have been performed by his deputies and his own office.
Office holders
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [https://archives.parliament.uk/collections/getrecord/GB61_HL_PO_CP The records of the Clerk of the Parliaments are held by the UK Parliamentary Archives]
Bibliography
- {{cite journal|last=Pollard|first=A.F.|year=1942|title=The Clerk of the Crown|journal=The English Historical Review|publisher=Oxford University Press|volume=57|issue=227|issn= 0013-8266|doi=10.1093/ehr/lvii.ccxxvii.312|pages=312–333}}
- {{cite book|last=Macqueen|first=John Fraser|title=A practical treatise on the appellate jurisdiction of the House of Lords & Privy Council: together with the practice on parliamentary divorce|publisher=A. Maxwell & son|year=1842|oclc=60725157}}
- {{cite book|last=The Stationery Office|title=Companion to the standing orders and guide to the proceedings of the House of Lords: laid on the table by the clerk of the parliaments|publisher=The Stationery Office|year=2007|edition=21st|isbn=978-0-10-400709-9}}
- {{cite book|last=Todd|first=Alpheus |title=The practice and privileges of the two Houses of Parliament: with an appendix of forms|url=https://archive.org/details/cihm_27779|publisher=Rogers & Thompson|year=1840|oclc=16440023|isbn=0-665-27779-2}}
{{Officers of the Lords and Commons}}