Clerk of the House of Commons

For the Canadian official, see Clerk of the House of Commons (Canada).

Under Clerk of the Parliaments
Incumbent Robert Rogers since 1 October 2011
Residence	Outbuilding, Palace of Westminster
Appointer	Elizabeth II as Sovereign
Inaugural holder	Robert de Melton
Formation	1363 first permanent appointment

The Clerk of the House of Commons is the chief executive of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and before 1707 of the House of Commons of England. The current Clerk of the House of Commons is Robert Rogers, who succeeded Sir Malcolm Jack KCB on 1 October 2011.^[1]

The formal name for the position held by the Clerk of the House of Commons is Under Clerk of the Parliaments.^[2] The chief clerk of the House of Lords is the Clerk of the Parliaments.

Until 1 January 2008, when the reforms to the House's governance proposed by the Tebbit Review of management and services of the House were implemented, the Clerk was the head of the Clerk's Department. He remains the principal adviser to the Speaker on the House's privileges and procedures. The Clerk's other responsibilities relate to the conduct of the business of the House and its committees. The Clerk is also accounting officer for the House.

List of Clerks of the House of Commons

14th century 1363 — Robert de Melton 1385 — John de Scardeburgh 15th century 1414 — Thomas Haseley 1440 — John Dale 1461 — Thomas Bayen 16th century 1504 — Thomas Hylton 1510 — William Underhill 1515 — Robert Ormeston 1547 — John Seymour 1570 — Fulk Onslow 17th century 1603 — Ralph Ewens 1611 — William Pinches 1612 — John Wright 1639 — Henry Elsyng the younger 1649 — Henry Scobell 1658 — John Smythe 1659 — John Phelips 1659 — Thomas St. Nicholas 1660 — William Jessop 1661 — William Goldsborough 1678 — William Goldsborough the Younger 1683 — Paul Jodrell 18th century 1727 — Edward Stables 1732 — Nicholas Hardinge 1748 — Jeremiah Dyson 1762 — Thomas Tyrwhitt 1768 — John Hatsell

19th century 1820 — John Henry Ley 1850 — Sir Denis Le Marchant, Bt 1871 — Sir Erskine May 1886 — Sir Reginald Palgrave 20th century 1900 — Sir Archibald Milman KCB 1902 — Sir Courtenay Ilbert KCB KCSI CIE 1921 — Sir Thomas Lonsdale Webster KCB 1930 — Sir Horace Dawkins KCB MBE 1937 — Sir Gilbert Campion GCB 1948 — Sir Frederic Metcalfe KCB 1954 — Sir Edward Fellowes KCB CMG MC 1962 — Sir Barnett Cocks KCB OBE 1974 — Sir David Lidderdale KCB 1976 — Sir Richard Barlas KCB OBE 1979 — Sir Charles Gordon KCB 1983 — Sir Kenneth Bradshaw KCB 1987 — Sir Clifford Boulton GCB 1994 — Sir Donald Limon KCB 1998 — Sir William McKay KCB 21st century 2003 — Sir Roger Sands KCB 2006 — Sir Malcolm Jack KCB 2011 — Robert Rogers

References

1. ^ "Clerk of the House and Chief Executive". parliament.uk. 1 October 2011. http://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/principal/clerk-commons/. 
2. ^ Parliamentary Corporate Bodies Act 1992, section 2(2): "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."

External links

• Information sheet - Clerk of the House - UK Parliament website