Parliamentary Scrutiny Flashcards
There are two broad types of committee in Parliament:
- Select committees have longer-term membership and scrutinise governmental activities and polices;
- Legislative committees (usually Public Bill committees) scrutinise individual pieces of proposed legislation.
Within the first category, there are select committees operating in both the Commons and the Lords, though there is a difference in emphasis in the approach and subject matter dealt with in each.
House of Commons Select Committees’s function is to…
- Focus on scrutinising government departments
- Each department of state is shadowed by a separate select committee, scrutinising its work.
House of Lords Select Committees’ function is to:
The Lords concentrate on broader more thematic scrutiny, based on six main areas:
Europe, science and technology, economics, communications, the UK constitution, and international relations.
What are select committees?
Select committees are a key mechanism by which Parliament holds the government to account.
They consist of MPs, Lords, or, in the case of ‘Joint Committees’, both. Most select committees are established under Standing Orders (parliamentary rules), meaning that they are permanent entities although their membership will change with a change of parliament.
Select committees are appointed by the House to perform a variety of tasks on the House’s behalf, including scrutinising the work of all government departments and examining expenditure, procedures, and domestic administration of the House.
Committees determine the subjects into which they will inquire, and they have extensive powers to gather evidence, both written and oral. Their findings and recommendations are submitted to the House and published as reports.
The modern system of select committees was established relatively recently, in 1979. It has equivalents in many other parliaments across the globe.
Why does Parliament need select committees?
In separate materials you have seen how various mechanisms such as debates, parliamentary questions (PQs) and Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) are used to hold the government to account in the House of Commons.
Select committees provide Parliament with a way of increasing its capacity to scrutinise the government away from the Commons chamber. Select committees are cross-party (including MPs and/or Lords from both sides of the House).
There is not enough sitting time for MPs to scrutinise fully, and for the government to provide answers on, every important policy or piece of legislation.
The Lords, who have comparatively more time, are able to focus expertise on key political areas.
Party whips play…
…no part in Select Committee appointments.
Who are Commons select committees elected by?
• Most committee Chairs are elected by their fellow MPs
• Minimum 11 members, selected by internal party election
• Membership reflects the party-political balance of the House
How are members in the Lords select committees proposed?
• Chairs appointed by the House on the proposal of the Committee of Selection
• Members usually proposed by Committee of Selection, and voted on by the House
• No fixed number of members
• No rule on political balance
Select committees can influence the direction of government by:
- Writing reports for the House
- Attracting media attention to a political issue – this is increasingly important
- Encouraging ministers to engage properly with an issue, knowing that they will be called to give evidence to a select committee meeting
The government is committed to replying to every select committee report…
…within 60 days of its publication.
What are some examples of House of Commons select committees?
Public Accounts Committee
Scrutinises the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of public spending and holds the government and its civil servants to account for the delivery of public services.
Transport Committee
Examines the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Transport and its associated public bodies.
Committee on Standards
Oversees the work of the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards on, for example, MPs’ Register of Interests, conduct etc.
House of Lords select committees - examples
Constitution Committee
Examines all public bills for constitutional implications and investigates broad constitutional issues.
Intergenerational Fairness and Provision Committee
Set up in March 2019 to consider the impacts of current government policy on future generations.
Gambling Industry Committee
Set up in June 2019 to consider the social and economic impacts of the gambling industry (e.g. online casinos).
Joint select committees
There are four joint select committees (with members from both Houses):
What are the 4 Joint select committees?
There are four joint select committees (with members from both Houses):
q The Joint Committee on Human Rights which considers human rights issues in the UK.
q The Joint Committee for National Security Strategy which scrutinises the structures for governmental decision-making on national security, particularly the role of the National Security Council and the National Security Adviser.
q The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments is appointed to consider statutory instruments made in exercise of powers granted by Act of Parliament. Instruments not laid before Parliament are included within the Committee’s remit.
q The Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills considers Bills which bring together a number of existing Acts of Parliament on the same subject into one Act without amending the law, although they occasionally contain minor corrections and improvements
Select committee powers to call evidence, meaning?
House of Commons select committees are given powers by the House to ‘send for persons, papers and records’, meaning they have the power to summon and examine witnesses.
If any witness who has been summoned to appear before a select committee refuses to attend, the fact is reported to the House and an order made for his attendance at the bar to be admonished by the Speaker (Erskine May’s Parliamentary Practice (24th Edn, 2011) p 820)).
Remember that civil servants, Ministers, MPs and Lords cannot be summonsed in this way.
Usually, witnesses attend willingly. If they do not…
…the Select Committee may issue a summons. If that is ignored, then a warrant may be issued.
“If a Select Committee has issued a summons to a witness to attend, or produce papers, and the witness has not responded, it is for the House to act (or not) on the basis of a Report made to it by the committee. The House may order the Serjeant at Arms as Warrant Officer of the House to serve a Warrant on the witness. In serving the Warrant, the Serjeant or his appointee may call on the full assistance of the civil authorities, including the police.”
(House of Commons Information Office ‘Disciplinary and Penal Powers of the House’ September 2010).
Parliamentary select committees are needed to provide…
…a formal mechanism for scrutiny of government action by the legislature
