WORK OF THE COMMITTEE DURING THE PRESENT
PARLIAMENT: A PROGRESS REPORT
Conclusion
21. The scrutiny of Government demands patience
and determination. During this Parliament we have seen it as an
important part of our responsibilities to guard against any encroachment
upon the rights of select committees, while at the same time adding
to the weapons in the select committees' armoury by setting precedents
of value to the whole select committee system in its scrutinising
of government. We have successfully
- used Special Reports as a means of ensuring
that the House is aware of any attempt to frustrate committee
wishes
- insisted on having access to internal documents
of the FCO (including telegrams and classified papers) where these
are vital to the conduct of an inquiry
- refused to have our proper responsibilities
postponed or curtailed by the Government's establishment of a
non-parliamentary inquiry (namely that established under Sir Thomas
Legg and Sir Robin Ibbs to inquire into arms supplies to Sierra
Leone[29])
- demanded that officials understand their constitutional
responsibilities to ministers and to Parliament.
As we said in our report on Sierra Leone, where
these issues were most to the fore, "tenacity has its rewards".[30]
By showing that we would not capitulate under pressure, we forced
government to make a number of concessions. In this way, we believe
we have done a service to all select committees.
22. To fulfil the remit they have been given
by the House, select committees have to be adequately resourced
for both staff and, when necessary, travel. To cope with the volume
of work facing it, the Foreign Affairs Committee had to increase
its staffing early on it this Parliament. A way was found to achieve
this despite the very limited flexibility of the staffing resources,
within the Clerk's Department. We ask that the funding of adequate
staffing for select committees is considered further by the Liaison
Committee.
23. Though the Foreign Affairs Committee has
not been refused funding for any of its inquiries in this Parliament,
it appears that the travel budget for Select Committees as a whole
has been under constant pressure. Moreover the ceiling figure
for any one overseas visit, which has not been increased for several
years, has necessitated some unconventional travel arrangements
in order to enable all members of the Committee to take part in
visits.
24. We believe that the Liaison Committee should
be given the responsibility for setting the overall budget for
Select Committee travel and staffing expenditure each year and
that the Clerk of the Liaison Committee should be the Accounting
Officer for that expenditure.
25. We have also consistently returned to our
recommendations to monitor the progress the Government has made
in dealing with the issues we have identified. Select committees
must not lose sight of recommendations unanswered. It is precisely
those issues which are most difficult to resolve that are least
likely to be confronted head on by Government. Progress reports
are another necessary weapon in our armoury. If necessary, we
will update this report with a further progress report before
the end of this Parliament.
26. We also consider it as essential that,
notwithstanding the establishment of the Intelligence and Security
Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee must have access to requisite
intelligence and security information and to officials of the
intelligence services where this is germane to its own inquiries.
This issue arose in relation to our inquiries relating to Sierra
Leone and Kosovo, but it is an issue which may arise in the case
of any of our inquiries. The Committee attaches great importance
to the assurance given by Douglas Hurd, then Foreign Secretary,
that the Intelligence and Security Committee would not "truncate
in any way the existing responsibilities of existing Committees."[31]
27. For scrutiny to be effective, Committees
must be seen to be independent of Government. Our experience of
the response that the Government gave to our desire to inquire
into and probe the United Kingdom's involvement in Sierra Leone
and the Sandline affair, underscores the need for the House to
implement the Liaison Committee's Report Shifting the Balance
in advance of the next general election. In particular, the selection
of members of committees, and of the Chairmen, needs to be removed
from the patronage of the executive and/or party whips.
28. We end this special report by restating
one of the conclusions of our report on Sierra Leone.[32]
We believe that one of the principal justifications for the departmental
select committee system is that officials and Ministers are aware
that the beam of the select committee searchlight may one day
swing in their direction, and that they may have to justify their
action—or inaction—when subject to intense scrutiny
by a committee such as ours, acting on behalf of Parliament and,
beyond that, on behalf of a wider public interest.
29 HC 1016, Session 1997-98. Back
30
HC (1998-99) 116, para. 99. Back
31
HC Deb 22 February 1994, col. 164. Back
32
HC(1998-99)116, para 111. Back
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