What is the role of the parliamentary watchdog ICGS,
What is the role of the parliamentary watchdog ICGS, which was established in reaction to #MeToo?
Prior to last week, the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme (ICGS), a parliamentary watchdog formed more than three years ago, was said to have been referred to by 56 MPs, including two shadow cabinet ministers.
The ICGS’s profile has risen following revelations that a Conservative MP was referred to it for reportedly watching pornography on his phone in the House of Commons.
What exactly is the ICGS?
As a response of the #MeToo movement and claims of sleaze and sexual misconduct levelled at politicians such as Sir Michael Fallon and Charlie Elphicke, the scheme was established as an impartial mechanism with cross-party support. Its other purpose is to handle official HR complaints.
It is made up of many codes, including the parliament’s sexual misconduct policy, and its reach was increased in 2019 to include historical incidents.
Kathryn Stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards (PCS), has had her jurisdiction expanded to include overseeing investigations and making decisions in instances involving MPs under the ICGS.
How does it function?
The ICGS applies to anybody who works on or visits the parliamentary estate. An external impartial investigator evaluates complaints made to a hotline. If the complaint fits the scheme’s standards, an external independent investigator will conduct a thorough inquiry.
Complaints against MPs or MPs’ employees are examined by independent outside investigators. Complaints about House of Lords members or their employees are examined by the independent House of Lords commissioner for standards.
Under the ICGS, an independent expert panel (IEP) that does not include MPs decides appeals and punishments against MPs accused of bullying, harassment, or sexual misconduct.
What has the scope of the ICGS’s work been?
Since July 2018, the ICGS claims to have examined more than 100 complaints of bullying, harassment, and sexual misconduct.
Most investigations are kept private, but seven instances involving complaints against MPs that were heard by an IEP have been made public.
Three of the incidents concerning the former Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, were included in an IEP report released in March, which validated 21 of 35 complaints lodged against him by former employees and colleagues.
What distinguishes the ICGS from the PCS?
The initial plan was for the ICGS to handle standard HR issues, such as sexual harassment and bullying, while the PCS handled behaviour related to MPs’ roles, such as lobbying.
However, some critics have claimed that there has been some crossover. According to one MP, the PCS has begun scooping up instances that are ostensibly covered by the ICGS, so “gold-plating” its sanctions rather than monitoring a separate class of behaviour.
Is it functional?
Alison Stanley, the HR director, conducted an 18-month evaluation of the plan and found “great improvement,” but voiced concerns about equitable access for various groups and processes that had grown “overly complicated.”
She stated that “some have the impression that it is a difficult, solitary, and long procedure.” The ICGS director, Jo Willows, stated last month that 28 of Stanley’s 33 suggestions had been followed.
