Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration

Appointment and tenure of office.

1

• (1) For the purpose of conducting investigations in accordance with the following provisions of this Act there shall be appointed a Commissioner, to be known as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration.

• (2) Her Majesty may by Letters Patent from time to time appoint a person to be the Commissioner . . . .

• (2A) A person appointed to be the Commissioner shall hold office until the end of the period for which he is appointed.

• (2B) That period must be not more than seven years.

• (2C) Subsection (2A) is subject to subsections (3) and (3A).

• (3) A person appointed to be the Commissioner may be—

• (a) relieved of office by Her Majesty at his own request, or

• (b) removed from office by Her Majesty, on the ground of misbehaviour, in consequence of Addresses from both Houses of Parliament.

• (3A) Her Majesty may declare the office of Commissioner to have been vacated if satisfied that the person appointed to be the Commissioner is incapable for medical reasons—

• (a) of performing the duties of his office; and

• (b) of requesting to be relieved of it.

• (3B) A person appointed to be the Commissioner is not eligible for re-appointment.

• (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

• (1) There shall be paid to the holder of the office of Commissioner the same salary as if he were employed in the civil service of the State in such appointment as the House of Commons may by resolution from time to time determine; and a resolution under this subsection may take effect from the date on which it is passed or from such other date as may be specified in the resolution.

• (2) In relation to any time before the first resolution under subsection (1) above takes effect, the salary payable to the holder of the office of Commissioner shall be the same salary as if he were employed in the civil service of the State as a Permanent Secretary.

• (3) The provisions of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the pensions and other benefits to be paid to or in respect of persons who have held office as Commissioner.

• (4) The salary payable to a holder of the office of Commissioner shall be abated by the amount of any pension payable to him in respect of any public office in the United Kingdom or elsewhere to which he had previously been appointed or elected; . . .

• (4A) In computing the salary of a former holder of the office of Commissioner for the purposes of the said Schedule 1—

• (a) any abatement of that salary under subsection (4) above,

• (b) any temporary abatement of that salary in the national interest, and

• (c) any voluntary surrender of that salary in whole or in part,

shall be disregarded.

• (5) Any salary, pension or other benefit payable by virtue of this section shall be charged on and issued out of the Consolidated Fund.

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• (1) The Commissioner may appoint such officers as he may determine with the approval of the Treasury as to numbers and conditions of service.

• (1A) The Commissioner may appoint and pay a mediator or other appropriate person to assist him in the conduct of an investigation under this Act.

• (2) Any function of the Commissioner under this Act may be performed by any officer of the Commissioner authorised for that purpose by the Commissioner , by any member of the staff so authorised of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales or by any officer so authorised of the Health Service Commissioner for England . . . .

• (2A) For the purposes of conducting a joint investigation referred to in section 11ZAA of this Act, any function of the Commissioner under this Act may be performed by any person discharging or assisting in the discharge of a function of a Local Commissioner, but only if the person is authorised for the purpose by the Commissioner.

• (3) The expenses of the Commissioner under this Act, to such amount as may be sanctioned by the Treasury, shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament.

3A

• (1) Where the office of Commissioner becomes vacant, Her Majesty may, pending the appointment of a new Commissioner, appoint a person under this section to act as the Commissioner at any time during the period of twelve months beginning with the date on which the vacancy arose.

• (1A) A person appointed to act as the Commissioner (“an acting Commissioner”) may have held office as the Commissioner.

• (1B) A person appointed as an acting Commissioner is eligible for appointment as the Commissioner unless he has already held office as the Commissioner.

• (2) A person appointed as an acting Commissioner shall hold office during Her Majesty’s pleasure and, subject to that, shall hold office—

• (a) until the appointment of a new Commissioner or the expiry of the period of twelve months beginning with the date on which the vacancy arose, whichever occurs first; and

• (b) in other respects, in accordance with the terms and conditions of his appointment which shall be such as the Treasury may determine.

• (3) A person appointed as an acting Commissioner shall, while he holds office, be treated for all purposes, except for the purposes of section 1 and 2, and this section of this Act, as the Commissioner.

• (4) Any salary, pension or other benefit payable by virtue of this section shall be charged on and issued out of the Consolidated Fund.

Investigation by the Commissioner

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• (1) Subject to the provisions of this section and to the notes contained in Schedule 2 to this Act, this Act applies to the government departments, corporations and unincorporated bodies listed in that Schedule; and references in this Act to an authority to which this Act applies are references to any such corporation or body.

• (2) Her Majesty may by Order in Council amend Schedule 2 to this Act by the alteration of any entry or note, the removal of any entry or note or the insertion of any additional entry or note.

• (3) An Order in Council may only insert an entry if—

• (a) it relates—

• (i) to a government department; or

• (ii) to a corporation or body whose functions are exercised on behalf of the Crown; or

• (b) it relates to a corporation or body—

• (i) which is established by virtue of Her Majesty’s prerogative or by an Act of Parliament or an Order in Council or order made under an Act of Parliament or which is established in any other way by a Minister of the Crown in his capacity as a Minister or by a government department;

• (ii) at least half of whose revenues derive directly from money provided by Parliament, a levy authorised by an enactment, a fee or charge of any other description so authorised or more than one of those sources; and

• (iii) which is wholly or partly constituted by appointment made by Her Majesty or a Minister of the Crown or government department.

• (3A) No entry shall be made if the result of making it would be that the Parliamentary Commissioner could investigate action which can be investigated by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales under the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2019.

• (3B) No entry shall be made in respect of–

• (a) the Scottish Administration of any part of it;

• (b) any Scottish public authority with mixed functions or no reserved functions within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998; or

• (c) the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.

• (4) No entry shall be made in respect of a corporation or body whose sole activity is, or whose main activities are, included among the activities specified in subsection (5) below.

• (5) The activities mentioned in subsection (4) above are—

• (a) the provision of education, or the provision of training otherwise than under the Industrial Training Act 1982;

• (b) the development of curricula, the conduct of examinations or the validation of educational courses;

• (c) the control of entry to any profession or the regulation of the conduct of members of any profession;

• (d) the investigation of complaints by members of the public regarding the actions of any person or body, or the supervision or review of such investigations or of steps taken following them.

• (6) No entry shall be made in respect of a corporation or body operating in an exclusively or predominantly commercial manner or a corporation carrying on under national ownership an industry or undertaking or part of an industry or undertaking.

• (7) Any statutory instrument made by virtue of this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (8) In this Act—

• (a) any reference to a government department to which this Act applies includes a reference to any of the Ministers or officers of such a department; and

• (b) any reference to an authority to which this Act applies includes a reference to any members or officers of such an authority.

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• (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Commissioner may investigate any action taken by or on behalf of a government department or other authority to which this Act applies, being action taken in the exercise of administrative functions of that department or authority, in any case where—

• (a) a written complaint is duly made by a member of the public, who claims to have sustained injustice in consequence of maladministration in connection with the action so taken, to—

• (i) the Commissioner, if the complaint relates to the complainant’s experience as a victim, or

• (ii) in any other case, a member of the House of Commons, and

• (b) in a case falling within paragraph (a)(ii), the complaint is referred to the Commissioner, with the consent of the person who made it, by a member of that House with a request to conduct an investigation thereon.

• (1A) Subsection (1C) of this section applies if—

• (a) a written complaint is duly made by a member of the public, who claims that a person has failed to perform a relevant duty owed by that person to the member of the public, to—

• (i) the Commissioner, if the complaint relates to the complainant’s experience as a victim, or

• (ii) in any other case, a member of the House of Commons, and

• (b) in a case falling within paragraph (a)(ii), the complaint is referred to the Commissioner, with the consent of the person who made it, by a member of the House of Commons with a request to conduct an investigation into it.

• (1B) For the purposes of subsection (1A) of this section a relevant duty is a duty imposed by any of these—

• (a) a code of practice issued under section 32 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 (code of practice for victims), or

• (b) sections 35 to 44 of that Act (duties of local probation boards in connection with victims of sexual , violent or terrorism offences).

• (1C) If this subsection applies, the Commissioner may investigate the complaint.

• (2) Except as hereinafter provided, the Commissioner shall not conduct an investigation under this Act in respect of any of the following matters, that is to say—

• (a) any action in respect of which the person aggrieved has or had a right of appeal, reference or review to or before a tribunal constituted by or under any enactment or by virtue of Her Majesty’s prerogative;

• (b) any action in respect of which the person aggrieved has or had a remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law:

• (2A) Subsection (2)(a) of this section shall have effect in relation to the right of a person to make a complaint of unlawful discrimination under the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 as if it were such a right of appeal, reference or review as is mentioned in that subsection.

• (3) Without prejudice to subsection (2) of this section, the Commissioner shall not conduct an investigation under subsection (1) of this section in respect of any such action or matter as is described in Schedule 3 to this Act.

• (4) Her Majesty may by Order in Council amend the said Schedule 3 so as to exclude from the provisions of that Schedule such actions or matters as may be described in the Order; and any statutory instrument made by virtue of this subsection shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (4A) Without prejudice to subsection (2) of this section, the Commissioner shall not conduct an investigation pursuant to a complaint under subsection (1A) of this section in respect of—

• (a) action taken by or with the authority of the Secretary of State for the purposes of protecting the security of the State, including action so taken with respect to passports, or

• (b) any action or matter described in any of paragraphs 1 to 4 and 6A to 11 of Schedule 3 to this Act.

• (4B) Her Majesty may by Order in Council amend subsection (4A) of this section so as to exclude from paragraph (a) or (b) of that subsection such actions or matters as may be described in the Order.

• (4C) Any statutory instrument made by virtue of subsection (4B) of this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (5) In determining whether to initiate, continue or discontinue an investigation under this Act, the Commissioner shall, subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, act in accordance with his own discretion; and any question whether a complaint is duly made under this Act shall be determined by the Commissioner.

• (5A) For the purposes of this section, administrative functions of a government department to which this Act applies include functions exercised by the department on behalf of the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 93 of the Scotland Act 1998.

• (5B) The Commissioner shall not conduct an investigation under this Act in respect of any action concerning Scotland and not relating to reserved matters which is taken by or on behalf of a cross-border public authority within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998.

• (6) For the purposes of this section, administrative functions exercisable by any person appointed by the Lord Chancellor as a member of the administrative staff of any court or tribunal shall be taken to be administrative functions of the Ministry of Justice ....

• (7) For the purposes of this section, administrative functions exercisable by any person appointed as a member of the administrative staff of a relevant tribunal—

• (a) by a government department or authority to which this Act applies; or

• (b) with the consent (whether as to remuneration and other terms and conditions of service or otherwise) of such a department or authority,

shall be taken to be administrative functions of that department or authority.

• (8) In subsection (7) of this section, “relevant tribunal” means a tribunal listed in Schedule 4 to this Act.

• (9) Her Majesty may by Order in Council amend the said Schedule 4 by the alteration or removal of any entry or the insertion of any additional entry; and any statutory instrument made by virtue of this subsection shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

• (9A) No entry shall be made in the said Schedule 4 in respect of the holder of any office in the Scottish Administration which is not a ministerial office or in respect of any Scottish public authority with mixed functions or no reserved functions within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998.

• (9B) In this section “victim” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024.

6

• (1) A complaint under this Act may be made by any individual, or by any body of persons whether incorporated or not, not being—

• (a) a local authority or other authority or body constituted for purposes of the public service or of local government or for the purposes of carrying on under national ownership any industry or undertaking or part of an industry or undertaking;

• (b) any other authority or body within subsection (1A) below.

• (1A) An authority or body is within this subsection if–

• (a) its members are appointed by–

• (i) Her Majesty;

• (ii) any Minister of the Crown;

• (iii) any government department;

• (iv) the Scottish Ministers;

• (v) the First Minister; or

• (vi) the Lord Advocate, or

• (b) its revenues consist wholly or mainly of–

• (i) money provided by Parliament; or

• (ii) sums payable out of the Scottish Consolidated Fund (directly or indirectly).

• (1B) A complaint under section 5(1)(a)(i) or (1A)(a)(i) may also be made by a person who is authorised to act on behalf of the person aggrieved.

• (2) Where the person by whom a complaint might have been made under the foregoing provisions of this Act has died or is for any reason unable to act or, where subsection (1B) applies, to authorise another person to act, the complaint may be made by the person’s personal representative, or by a member of the person’s family, or by another individual suitable to represent the person.

• (2A) Except as provided by subsections (1B) and (2), a complaint may not be entertained under this Act unless made by the person aggrieved.

• (3) A complaint shall not be entertained under this Act unless it is made ... not later than twelve months from the day on which the person aggrieved first had notice of the matters alleged in the complaint; but the Commissioner may conduct an investigation pursuant to a complaint not made within that period if he considers that there are special circumstances which make it proper to do so.