The report is an extraordinary indictment of the way in which parliament conducts its scrutiny of government

Anna Coote Commission member

The report comes on the day that a group of senior backbenchers, including Mark Fisher, Kenneth Clarke and Tony Wright, are expected to call for parliament to reassert is authority.

The society says its proposals, which include making the prime minister more open to scrutiny from MPs, should provide new Commons Leader Robin Cook with a route map for reform.

Left behind

The report, published on Tuesday, says: "Parliament has been left behind by far-reaching changes to the constitution, government and society in the past two decades.

"Serious gaps and weaknesses in the working on accountability were found."

The report, compiled by a commission headed by former Conservative Cabinet minister Lord Newton of Braintree, argues that scrutiny of government is "neither systematic nor rigorous", and the performance of peers and MPs falls short of what is expected.

It lays down the challenge for every politician to make parliament raise it game.

Commission member Anna Coote, from the King's Fund healthcare charity, described the report as an "extraordinary indictment of the way in which parliament conducts its scrutiny of government."

The commission sees select committees of MPs as the main vehicle for keeping tabs on the government and says every MP should serve on one.

Main recommendations

Make the prime minister go before Commons committee Ensure all MPs serve on select committees Set performance targets for parliament Close the Commons chamber one day a week Pay committee chairmen Reorganise the Commons hours to improve media coverage

And in an attempt to enable MPs to carve out a career on the backbenches, it proposes that key committee posts be paid, with select committee chairmen commanding the same salaries as ministers.

Under the proposals, the prime minister would have to go before a select committee once a year to answer questions on the government's annual report - an idea Downing Street has so far rejected.

That proposal follows criticism that the weekly prime minister's question time (PMQs) has become irrelevant.

A Hansard Society survey suggests 93% of politicians believe PMQs is now a waste of time.

Gladitorial atmophere

"The gladitorial atmosphere means the questions aim to embarrass, and the prime minister's reply is designed to worst his opponent," says the report, which recommends changes to the way PMQs is run.

Other suggestions include closing the House of Commons chamber for one day a week - allowing MPs to devote themselves to committee work.

Fisher: Voter disillusion grows from parliament's problems

"There is scope for making much of the chamber's proceedings shorter, sharper and more to the point," it adds.

Mr Cook would have to steer the plans through the Commons for them to proceed.

A spokesman for his department said he would carefully consider the recommendations.

Voter disenchantment

Mark Fisher, a leading member of the Parliament First group of senior MPs, said modernisation of the legislature should be done by parliament itself, not government.

He welcomed the report and said the low turnout in the general election grew out of parliament's problems.

He told BBC News Online: "People increasingly see government steamrollering its way through the whole process.

"I think if there was a parliament that stood up to government more and was on a level footing - not stopping government from doing the job it was elected to do - then people would be more engaged.

"People feel now we have elected a government it will have its own way, politics effectively dies between elections, or at least is substantially diminished."