The Foreign Affairs Committee is appointed under
Standing Order No 152 to examine the expenditure, administration
and policy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and associated
public bodies.
The Committee consists of 12 Members. It has
a quorum of three. Unless the House otherwise orders, all members
nominated to the Committee continue to be members of it for the
remainder of the Parliament.
The Committee has power:
(a) to send for persons, papers and records,
to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House, to adjourn
from place to place, and to report from time to time;
(b) to appoint specialist advisers either
to supply information which is not readily available or to elucidate
matters of complexity within the Committee's order of reference;
(c) to communicate to any other committee
appointed under the same Standing Order (or to the European Scrutiny
Committee, the Committee of Public Accounts, the Deregulation
Committee or to the Environmental Audit Committee) its evidence
and any other documents relating to matters of common interest;
(d) to meet concurrently with any other
such committee for the purposes of deliberating, taking evidence,
or considering draft reports or with the European Scrutiny Committee
or any Sub-Committee thereof for the purposes of deliberating
or taking evidence.
The membership of the Committee since its nomination
on 17 July 1997 has been as follows:
Mr Donald Anderson, Swansea East (Chairman)
Ms Diane Abbott, Hackney
| Sir David Madel, Bedfordshire
|
North and Stoke Newington
| South West (added 5.7.99)
|
Rt Hon Mrs Virginia Bottomley,
| Mr Ernie Ross, Dundee West
|
South West Surrey
| (discharged 22.3.99)
|
(discharged 25.1.99)
| Mr Ted Rowlands, Merthyr Tydfil and
|
Rt Hon Sir Peter Emery, East Devon
| Rhymney
|
Mr Norman A Godman, Greenock
| Rt Hon Sir John Stanley, Tonbridge
|
and Inverclyde
| and Malling
|
Mr David Heath, Somerton and
| Dr Phyllis Starkey, Milton Keynes
|
Frome
| South West (added 22.3.99)
|
Mr Eric Illsley, Barnsley Central
| Mr David Wilshire, Spelthorne
|
Mr Andrew Mackinlay, Thurrock
| Mr Shaun Woodward, Witney
|
| (added 25.1.99; discharged 5.7.99)
|
|