10. SELECT COMMITTEES
29. Public Administration
The Committee was nominated on 16 July 1997.
It had 11 Members and held 36 meetings.
|
Members | Meetings
|
| attended
|
|
Morgan, Mr Rhodri (Chairman) (discharged, 10.6.99)
| 14 |
Wright, Dr Tony (added, 10.6.99) (Chairman from 15.6.99)
| 19 |
Bradley, Mr Peter | 32
|
Browne, Mr Desmond (added, 10.6.99) | 19
|
Campbell, Mr Ronnie | 20
|
Clark, Dr Lynda (discharged, 10.6.99) | 11
|
Hancock, Mr Mike (discharged, 5.5.99) | 6
|
Jones, Ms Helen | 24
|
Kemp, Mr Fraser (discharged, 10.6.99) | 8
|
Moran, Ms Margaret | 21
|
Oaten, Mr Mark (added, 5.5.99) | 9
|
Ruffley, Mr David (discharged, 2.7.99) |
1 |
Soames, Mr Nicholas (added, 2.7.99) | 4
|
Shepherd, Mr Richard | 25
|
Tyrie, Mr Andrew | 7
|
White, Mr Brian (added, 10.6.99) | 18
|
|
Overall attendance: | 60.1 %
|
Number of Members added: | 5
|
Number of Members discharged: | 5
|
Turnover of membership during the Session: |
45 % |
|
Staff
Committee Clerk: Dr Paul Seaward, Deputy Principal Clerk (Senior
Structure Band 2).
Committee Assistant: Mrs Pamela Fisher, Higher Executive Officer
(Band B2).
Secretary: Miss Julie Storey, Secretary (Band D1).
Specialist Advisers during the Session
Professor Patrick Birkinshaw and Professor Robert Hazell.
Witnesses | |
Oral evidence was given during the Session by the following categories of witnesses:
| |
Number of appearances by:
| |
Cabinet Ministers
| 3 |
Other Ministers
| 4 |
Number of appearances by officials from, or representatives of:
| |
Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
| 2 |
Department of Health
| 3 |
Department of Trade and Industry
| 2 |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
| 1 |
Home Office
| 4 |
Scottish Office
| 3 |
Welsh Office
| 3 |
executive agencies
| 4 |
comprising: Public Record Office
| 2 |
Environment Agency
| 2 |
public bodies and non-Ministerial departments
| 19 |
comprising: Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes
| 4 |
Castle Vale Housing Action Trust
| 1 |
Crown Prosecution Service
| 1 |
Eastbourne Hospitals NHS Trust
| 3 |
Further Education Funding Council
| 2 |
Housing Corporation (of which 1 was by a member of the House of Lords)
| 2 |
Health and Safety Executive
| 2 |
Office of the Data Protection Registrar
| 3 |
Serious Fraud Office
| 1 |
Wigan and Bolton Health Authority
| 1 |
Members of Parliament
| 1 |
Appearances by other witnesses
| 52 |
| |
The following officials also attended meetings of the Committee:
| |
Mr Michael Buckley, Parliamentary Ombudsman and Health Service Ombudsman
| 7 |
Miss Isabel Nisbet, Deputy Health Service Ombudsman
| 6 |
Mr John Avery, Deputy Parliamentary Ombudsman
| 1 |
Mr Alan Watson, Director of Investigations, Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for
| |
Administration
| 1 |
Mr George Keil, Manager for the Ombudsman's Office in Scotland
| 1 |
Home Office Freedom of Information Unit
| 22 |
Overseas Visits
Date | Destination
| Members | Staff
| Purpose | Cost
|
1-5.3.98 | Washington
| 8 |
2 | Inquiry into the Accountability of Public Bodies
| £41,182.81
|
UK Visits
Date |
Destination
| Members
| Staff |
Purpose |
Cost |
14-15.12.98
| Edinburgh
| 6 |
3* | Evidence on the Annual Report of the Health Service Ombudsman for 1997-98; and inquiry into the Accountability of Public Bodies
| £3,672.94
|
15-16.2.99
| Birmingham
| 4 |
1 | Briefings on the Accountability of Public Bodies
| £1,026.44
|
* Includes 1 shorthand writer.
Reports and Minutes of Evidence
Title |
HC No.
(1998-99)
| Date of
publication
| No. of
pages
| Sale price
| Government
reply
|
First Report: Report of the Parliamentary Ombudsman for1997-98
| 136 |
30.3.99 |
66 | £12.50
| Received 8.7.99: published as Fourth Special Report, Session 1998-99
|
Second Report: Annual Report of the Health Service Ombudsman for 1997-98
| 54 |
11.5.99 |
148 | £18
| Received 5.8.99: published as Third Special Report, Session 1998-99
|
Third Report: Freedom of Information draft Bill
| 570-I |
29.7.99 |
143 | £15.90
| Received 21.10.99: published as Fifth Special Report, Session 1998-99
|
Minutes of Evidence: Freedom of Information draft Bill
| 570-i-xiii
| 16.8.99
| 212 |
£61.30
| Not applicable
|
Memoranda of Evidence: Freedom of Information draft Bill
| 570-II
| 16.8.99
| 149 |
£17 |
Not applicable
|
Fourth Report: Ministerial Accountability and Parliamentary Questions
| 821 |
10.11.99 |
50 | £9.70
| Not applicable
|
Fifth Report: Freedom of Information Draft Bill: The Committee's Response to the Home Office Reply
| 925 |
11.11.99 |
15 | £4.30
| Reply awaited
|
Sixth Report: Quangos |
209-I | 24.11.99
| 198 |
£22 |
Reply awaited
|
Memoranda of Evidence: Quangos
| 209-II
| 24.11.99
| 223 |
£20.50
| Not applicable
|
First Special Report: Government Response to the Fifth Report (Session 1997-98) on the Report of the Northern Ireland Ombudsman for 1997
| 53 |
11.12.98 |
6 | £2.25
| Not applicable
|
Second Special Report: Government Response to the Sixth Report (Session 1997-98) on the Government Information and Communication Service
| 162 |
22.1.99 |
9 | £3.40
| Not applicable
|
Third Special Report: Government Response to the Second Report (Session 1998-99)
| 816 |
25.10.99 |
9 | £3.40
| Not applicable
|
Fourth Special Report: Government Response to the First Report(Session 1998-99)
| 817 |
25.10.99 |
11 | £3.40
| Not applicable
|
Fifth Special Report: Government Response to the Third Report (Session 1997-98)
| 831 |
27.10.99 |
17 | £4.75
| Not applicable
|
Minutes of Proceedings
The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee for Session 1997-98
were published on 3.2.99 as HC 1174, Session 1997-98. The Minutes
of Proceedings of the Committee for Session 1998-99 will be published
as HC 913, Session 1998-99.
Divisions
Date | Subject
|
28.7.99 | Three, on amendments proposed to Chairman's draft Report on Freedom of Information draft Bill.
|
Debates
The following Reports were referred to on the Order Paper
as being relevant to a debate in the House on an Estimates Day,
19.10.99:
First Report, Session 1998-99, Report of the Parliamentary
Ombudsman for 1997-98 (HC 136);
Second Report, Session 1998-99, Annual Report of the Health Service
Ombudsman for 1997-98 (HC 54);
Second Report, Session 1997-98, Report of the Health Service Ombudsman
for 1996-97 (HC 352), and the Government's response thereto (HC
1055 of Session 1997-98).
Evidence
Oral evidence was taken at 28 of the Committee's 36 meetings.
On none of these occasions was evidence taken partly or wholly
in private.
Inquiry
| No. of oral evidence sessions
| No. of memoranda received
| No. of memoranda received from
| No. of memoranda published
| No. of memoranda made available in the Record Office for public use and placed in the Library
|
|
| | Govt. Departments
| executive agencies |
public bodies |
| |
Report of the Parliamentary Ombudsman for 1997-98
| 3 |
5 | 2
| 0 |
0 | 5
| 0 |
Annual Report of the Health Service Ombudsman for 1997-98
| 8 |
16 | 2
| 0 |
0 | 12
| 0 |
Freedom of Information draft Bill
| 13 |
81+
| 9 |
3 | 2
| 37 |
24 |
Ministerial Accountability and Parliamentary Questions
| 0 |
19 | 18
| 0 |
0 | 19
| 0 |
Freedom of Information draft Bill: The Committee's Response to the Home Office Reply
| 0 |
0 | 0
| 0 |
0 | 0
| 0 |
Quangos | 8
| 67 |
22 | 0
| 4 |
61 | 0
|
Total | 32
| 188 |
53 | 3
| 6 |
134 | 24
|
+ The Committee also received copies of 89 papers
submitted to the Home Office in response to the consultation process
on the draft Freedom of Information Bill and 2,300 representations
from individual supporters/members of one organisation
|