Select Committee on Liaison First Report

3 Working Practices

62. Our analysis of committees' execution of core tasks gives an indication of the depth and breadth of committee work undertaken in the past year. Much of this work has relied on the traditional techniques of the full committee collecting written evidence, taking formal oral evidence at Westminster, and producing reports. That method is highly effective; however, in 2003 there were examples of committees engaging in innovative practice at every stage in that process, in terms of:

• working in units smaller than the whole committee, i.e., via sub-committees and rapporteurs;
• information-gathering;
• and seeking to ensure that reports, and committee business generally, engaged the attention of the public and the media.

Sub-Committees

63. In our last Report, we reviewed the use made of sub-committees in recent years, addressing in particular the effects of the July 2001 changes to Standing Orders which gave all departmental select committees the power to set up a sub-committee.[145] We recorded that, while half a dozen committees had permanent sub-committees, most did not.

64. The situation has remained broadly the same in 2003. The EFRA Committee continues to set up "inquiry-specific" sub-committees. The ODPM and Treasury Committees have permanent sub-committees. The Health Committee's Maternity Services Sub-Committee completed its work in July. The Environmental Audit's Sustainable Education Sub-Committee completed its work in July 2003, and a new Environmental Crime Sub-Committee has been established and has begun its work. The only additions, both strictly speaking in 2004 rather than 2003, have been:

• the creation in January 2004 of a Northern Ireland Affairs Sub-Committee, mainly to undertake inquiries into matters that previously fell within the remit of the Northern Ireland Assembly, in view of continuing suspension of the Assembly;
• the creation of a sub-committee of the Work and Pensions Committee to inquire into the Department for Work and Pension's handling of major IT projects.

Information gathering

65. Effective scrutiny relies on effective information gathering. Committees are fortunate in generating many responses when they request written evidence as part of an inquiry, and these are essential, as are the oral evidence sessions held at Westminster during which Members question witnesses. However, in 2003 committees proved to be innovative in the methods used to collect information, formal evidence and otherwise. Committees also collected such evidence from an increasingly diverse range of witnesses, for example:

• as part of its inquiry into Learning the Sustainability Lesson, the Environmental Audit Committee "took oral evidence from five members of the public, including two school children… We chose the unusual venue of their co-ordinator's Nottingham 'eco-home'—a Victorian, semi-detached home which is being converted to improve its energy efficiency…. During the course of the inquiry we also visited students and teachers at Hampstead Comprehensive (Cricklewood), and Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College";[146]
• as part of its inquiry into Light Pollution, the Science and Technology Committee paid "a night-time visit to the Royal Observatory Greenwich to observe the stars and to meet members of a number of astronomical societies. This visit gave us a real flavour of the issues involved and enabled far more amateur astronomers to put their concerns directly to us than would be possible in a formal oral evidence session";[147]
• the International Development Committee pioneered the use of formal evidence-taking by video-link, when it heard the views of South Africa's parliamentary committee on trade and industry; it "intends to build on this work to encourage 'southern voices' to engage with our inquiries";[148]
• the Health Committee met informally with a number of school age children on Manchester Young People's Council during the course of its inquiry into Sexual Health; it found their views "so compelling" that they subsequently decided to take formal oral evidence at Westminster from a group of young people aged 15 to 21;[149]
• as part of its inquiry into the Empowerment of Children and Young People, the Welsh Affairs Committee met children and young people in an informal setting and subsequently took formal evidence from young people on two occasions. Evidence given by one witness from Funky Dragon (the Welsh Youth Assembly) was given in Welsh, the first such occasion by a witness at Westminster; [150]
• the Public Administration Select Committee "co-hosted a major public conference to highlight the issues surrounding civil service reform. Organised jointly with the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Office of the Civil Service Commissioners, Constitution Unit at University College, London and the First Division Association, the conference was very well attended with nearly 200 people. The Cabinet Secretary, Sir Andrew Turnbull, Baroness Prashar, the First Civil Service Commissioner, and Sir Nigel Wicks, the Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life were among a number of senior figures to make presentations and answer questions";[151]
• the ODPM Committee spent three days in Oldham in September as part of its inquiry into Social Cohesion, visiting local organisations before taking evidence in public for a day and a half; referring generally to visits, the Committee reported that "to see examples of good and bad practice is something we regard as important as a means of gathering information and views—a 'reality check'".[152]

66. The collection of written memoranda of evidence and the taking of formal oral evidence remain the principal means by which committees accumulate information. However, as the examples above show, committees are becoming increasingly versatile in their approach, reaching out to witnesses not previously able to contribute to inquiries. Such novel approaches not only improve the quality of information available to committees when reaching conclusions, but also give them an opportunity to engage with a more diverse range of members of the public.

On-line consultation

67. In last year's Annual Report we noted the potential benefit of on-line consultation as a means of accessing public participation in committee inquiries, and noted the positive comments of the Joint Committee on the draft Communications Bill, which had pioneered the method. Following work at official level on the possible benefits of on-line consultation, the Science and Technology Committee has decided to conduct an on-line consultation exercise as part of its inquiry into Human Reproductive Technologies and the Law. We welcome the expanded use of this consultation technique.

Engaging the public and the media

68. Successful committee inquiries do not take place in a vacuum. Gaining the attention of the public and the media is a worthy objective for two principal reasons: if the public are better informed about how they are governed as a result of Ministers and officials having publicly to explain their actions as part of a select committee inquiry, a fundamental requirement of a functioning democracy has been served; secondly, the more public interest there is in a particular inquiry, the greater will be the public debate that it generates, and the more pressure there will be for the Government to recognise the importance of the recommendations based on the evidence received. Therefore, gaining the attention of the public and the media is a necessary select committee objective.

Webcasting

69. Committee evidence sessions are frequently broadcast on television, our evidence sessions with the Prime Minister being perhaps the most prominent example. Committee reports and transcripts of evidence are freely available on the Internet and, following an earlier trial, from September 2003, the House has established a permanent webcasting service, allowing access to committee proceedings through the use of video and audio internet broadcasts. This service allows simultaneous audio-visual coverage of up to four select or standing committees, and from January 2004 coverage of committees which are meeting in public but which are not being televised has been available in audio-only for the first time. All committee coverage is accompanied by on-screen explanatory notes about the committee, the inquiry and the witnesses giving evidence. [153] In the longer term, there are plans for live television or audio coverage of all committees meeting in public.[154] An archive retains webcast meetings for 14 days. Webcasting of committee evidence sessions provides an exciting new way to engage the public and the media in our work. We are grateful to the House of Commons Commission and the Director of Parliamentary Broadcasting for achieving this expansion of the service and we look forward to further enhancements.

Media advice

70. In order to be able to engage effectively with the media, committees need to have access to relevant expertise. As part of the enhancement of committee staffs recommended by the Review of Select Committee Resources, a full-time Select Committee Media Officer has been in post since October and has been able to assist a group of six committees by:

• helping with publicity for reports;
• providing strategic and tactical advice and support to select committees on media-related aspects of their work;
• liaising with lobby journalists and specialist correspondents to improve awareness of committee work;
• developing media best practice across a range of committees.

71. The Review of Select Committee Resources, which we cover at para 82 below, recommended that three Media Officers be appointed. We welcome the appointment of the first Select Committee Media Officer and look forward to the provision of the additional support envisaged.

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145   HC (2002-03) 558, paras 46-53 Back

146   First Report of Session 2003-04, Annual Report 2003, HC 215, para 31 Back

147   HC (2003-04) 169, para 35 Back

148   HC (2003-04) 312, para 6. In the past, such links had been used for informal evidence by the Trade and Industry and Foreign Affairs Committees. Back

149   HC (2003-04) 239, para 21 Back

150   Second Report of Session 2003-04, Work of the Committee in 2003, HC 178, paras 10-11 Back

151   HC (2003-04) 229, para 5 Back

152   HC (2003-04) 221, para 3 Back

153   These are based on the notes for visitors which are made available to the public and media who are present at the meeting. Back

154   http://www.parliamentlive.tv/ Back

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Prepared 22 March 2004