 From
November 1994 to March 1995 he was a member of the House
of Commons All-Party Select Committee on Health and from
then until March 1997 he served on the Defence Select
Committee. In June 1997 William Hague appointed him an
Opposition Front Bench Spokesman on Defence (Shadow Defence
Minister).
In
September 2001 Iain Duncan Smith appointed Robert shadow
Minister for Science and Energy in the DTI team and in
July 2002 he became Shadow Minister for International Development.
In
June 2003 Robert decided to stand down from the Front Bench
for the freedom to speak from the Backbenches. He was
a member of the Select Committee on Science and Technology
until 2005.
Select
Committee on Science and Technology web page and Defence
web page
In
January 2004 Robert was elected Chairman of the House of
Commons Select Committee on Information.
In
November 2004, Michael Howard asked Robert to rejoin the
Front Bench Team as Shadow Minister for Science. Robert's
brief embraces both the Department of Trade and Industry
and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
In
July 2005 the Commons appointed Robert to membership of the
powerful Defence Select Committee. The remit of the Defence
Committee is to examine the spending, administration and
policy of the Ministry of Defence and its Agencies.
In
July 2005 Robert was also appointed a member of the Ecclesiastical
Committee. The Ecclesiastical Committee is a joint Committee
of Lords
and Commons which considers any new Church of England legislation
and
recommends to Parliament whether or not it is 'Expedient'.
Examples of
legislation would be care of cathedrals, changes to clergy
pay and
conditions and the consecration of women bishops.
Robert
Key enjoys singing, cooking and
the countryside. Robert has served on the Council of the Winston
Churchill Memorial Trust. He is a Patron of the Salisbury
Festival, President of the Salisbury
Plain Branch of the Institute of Advanced Motorists,
and a member of the Wiltshire
Wildlife Trust and Plantlife
International.
In
November 2004, Robert became a Trustee and Board Member of
the Wessex
Trust for Archaeology. In 2005 he was elected a member
of the General Synod of the Church of England.
In March 2007, The Royal Society of Chemistry presented Robert with their prestigious Parliamentary Award for ‘outstanding Parliamentary service to the cause of science’.
In May 2007 Robert was appointed a Member of the Joint Committee of Lords and Commons on the Human Tissue and Embryo Bill. This committee will make recommendations to the Government about revising the law on human tissue and embryo research inluding the licensing and use of hybrids and chimeras, sex selection and human genetic modification.
In November 2007 Robert was elected to become a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London - www.sal.org.uk.
In March 2008 the Speaker invited Robert to join the Panel of Chairmen, one of thirty senior MPs of all Parties who chair the legislative committees of The House of Commons, both Standing Committees of Bills and Statutory Instruments.
In April 2008 The Bishop of Salisbury installed Robert as a Lay Canon of Salisbury Cathedral - www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/
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