Select Committees

A complete list of Select Committee membership and a Factsheet (P2) on the work of Select Committees is available on request from the House of Commons Information Office. The list and Factsheet are also on the Parliament website at:

http://www.parliament.uk/factsheets

An index to the Select Committee home pages together with links to further pages containing information about their work and publications is on the Parliament website at: http://www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/cmsel.htm

Select Committee Meetings
29 November - 3 December 2004

Monday 29 November

NORTHERN IRELAND AFFAIRS
Subject: Air Transport Services in Northern Ireland
Witnesses: Cultra Residents' Association, Kinnegar Residents' Action Group

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Subject: Darfur, Sudan: Crisis, Response and Lessons
Witness: Dr Suliman Baldo, Africa Programme Director, International Crisis Group

NORTHERN IRELAND AFFAIRS
Subject: Air Transport Services in Northern Ireland
Witness: General Consumer Council

EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Subject: Every Child Matters
Witnesses: Lord Laming of Tewin CBE; Mr Philip Collins, Director, Social Market Foundation

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
Subject: Ministry of Defence: The Rapid Procurement of Capability to Support Operations
Witnesses: Sir Kevin Tebbit KCB, Permanent Under Secretary of State, and Lieutenant General Robert Fulton, Deputy Chief Defence Staff (Equipment Capabilities), Ministry of Defence

Tuesday 30 November

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: HOUSING, PLANNING, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS
Subject: Homelessness
Witnesses: Westminster City Council and the Association for London Government; Salford City Council, South Ribble Borough Council and South Ribble Key; National Housing Federation and the Yorkshire and Humberside Housing Forum

TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Subject: Employment Regulation
Witnesses: British Chambers of Commerce; Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development; Engineering Employers' Federation and Federation of Small Businesses

WELSH AFFAIRS
Subject: Police Service, Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour in Wales
Witnesses: Malcolm King, Chairman, North Wales Police Authority; Carol Moore, Chair, North Wales Criminal Justice Board and Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom, North Wales

TREASURY
Subject: Bank of England November Inflation Report
Witnesses: Mr Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, Ms Rachel Lomax, Deputy Governor; Mr Charles Bean, Mr Richard Lambert and Professor Steve Nickell, members of the Monetary Policy Committee

NORTHERN IRELAND AFFAIRS
Subject: Air Transport Services in Northern Ireland
Witnesses: Londonderry Chamber of Commerce; Stop Eglinton Airport Evictions Group; City of Derry Airport / Derry City Council

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
Subject: Public Libraries
Witnesses: The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, and the Society of Chief Librarians; the Audit Commission and the Advisory Council on Libraries

HOME AFFAIRS
Subject: Anti-Social Behaviour
Witnesses: Birmingham Youth Offending Service, Salford City Council, Youth Works Scheme and Family Welfare Association

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Subject: The European Union's trade agreements with African, Caribbean & Pacific states
Witnesses: Officials from the Department for International Development and the Department of Trade and Industry; International NGOs and Civil Society Representatives

TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Subject: Crown Post Offices
Witness: Post Office Limited

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS SUB-COMMITTEE ON THE GOVERNMENT'S RURAL DELIVERY STRATEGY
Subject: The Government's Rural Delivery Strategy
Witnesses: Local Government Association; Campaign to Protect Rural England, Council for National Parks, and the Wildlife Trusts Lord Whitty, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Subject: Western Balkans
Witnesses: Denis MacShane MP, Minister of State, and Karen Pierce, Head of Eastern Adriatic Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Wednesday 1 December

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Subjects: (i) Science Question Time (ii) The future of the National Institute for Medical Research
Witnesses: (i) Lord Sainsbury of Turville, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (ii) Sir Anthony Cleaver, Chairman, Professor Colin Blakemore, Chief Executive and professor John Savill, Council Member, Medical Research Council; Sir John Skehel, Director, Dr Robin Lovell-Badge, and Dr Steve Gamblin, National Institute for Medical Research

EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Subject: Secondary Education
Witness: Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP, Secretary of State for Education and Skills

DEFENCE
Subject: Duty of Care
Witnesses: Lynn Farr, Janet Mattin, June Sharples, and Claudia Beckley-Lines

TRANSPORT
Subject: Disabled People's Access to Transport: Follow Up
Witnesses: Charlotte Atkins MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, and officials from the Department for Transport; Disability Rights Commission, Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, and Mencap Transport Operators and Service Providers including Merseytravel, ATOC and Arriva

DEFENCE
Subject: Duty of Care
Witnesses: Diane and Geoff Gray, Doreen and Des James, and Yvonne and Jim Collinson

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT
Subject: International Leadership on Climate Change
Witness: Global Commons Institute; Carbon Trade Watch; Friends of the Earth

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
Subject: Facing Justice: Tackling defendants' non-attendance at court
Witnesses: Mr John Gieve CB, Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Home Office, Sir Ron de Witt, Chief Executive, Unified Courts Agency, Department of Constitutional Affairs, Mr Ken Macdonald QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, Crown Prosecution Service, Ms Moira Wallace, Chief Executive, Office for Criminal Justice Reform, and Mr John Burbeck, Chief Constable, Association of Chief Police Officers

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Subject: Waste Policy and Landfill Directive
Witness: Elliot Morley MP, Minister for Environment and Agri-Environment, DEFRA

Joint Committee

DRAFT MENTAL HEALTH BILL
Witnesses: Dr Patrick Byrne, Head of Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, South London and the Maudsley NHS Trust; Young Minds, Children's Legal Centre, Children's National Bureau

Thursday 2 December

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Subject: Ombudsman Issues
Witnesses: Ann Abraham, Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, and officials

WORK AND PENSIONS
Subject: Pension Credit
Witnesses: Local Government Association, Lancashire County Council and Leicestershire County Council; Public and Commercial Services Union

HEALTH
Subject: The Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry
Witnesses: Imperial College London, University College London, and The James Lind Library; Medical Research Council, Contact Clinical Research Association and Cancer Research UK

Forthcoming Select Committee Meetings
6 - 10 December 2004

Monday 6 December

FOREIGN AFFAIRSw
Subject: Council of Ministers
Witnesses: Rt Hon Jack Straw MP, Secretary of State, and officials, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

3.00 p.m.

The Grimond Room,
Portcullis House

EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Subject: Prison Education
Witnesses: Ms Caroline Neville and Mr John Gamble, Learning and Skills Council; Mrs Janice Shiner, Director General, Lifelong Learning Directorate, Department for Education & Skills; Lord Filkin CBE, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education & Skills and Mr Paul Goggins MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (at approximately 4.45 p.m.)

3.45 p.m.

The Wilson Room,
Portcullis House

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: HOUSING, PLANNING, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS URBAN AFFAIRS SUB-COMMITTEEw
Subject: The Role and Effectiveness of the Standards Board for England
Witnesses: London Borough of Hackney; Haverhill Town Council; Birmingham City Council; South Ribble Borough Council Standards Committee; City of Durham Standards Committee, and Northamptonshire County Council Standards Committee (at approximately 4.45 p.m.); National Association for Local Councils (NALC) and the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors (at approximately 5.15 p.m.); Local Government Association (LGA) (at approximately 5.45 p.m.)

4.15 p.m.

15

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
Subject: Department of Health - Reforming NHS Dentistry: Ensuring effective management of risks
Witnesses: Sir Nigel Crisp KCB, Permanent Secretary/NHS Chief Executive of Health; Professor Raman Bedi, Chief Dental Officer for England, and Professor Aidan Halligan, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, Department of Health

4.30 p.m.

16

Tuesday 7 December

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: HOUSING, PLANNING, LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE REGIONS
Subject: Homelessness
Witnesses: Crisis; Homeless Link; the Foyer Federation; Salvation Army; National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NACRO), and the Revolving Doors Agency (at approximately 10.00 a.m.)

9.15 a.m.

15

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS*w
Subject: Family Justice: the operation of the family courts
Witnesses: The Law Society; The Solicitors Family Law Association and The Family Law Bar Association

9.30 a.m.

The Wilson Room,
Portcullis House

HOME AFFAIRS*w
Subject: Anti-Social Behaviour
Witnesses: Manchester City Council; Peterborough Mediation Service; Rochdale Shelter Inclusion Project and Sergeant Paul Dunn MBE

2.30 p.m.

The Thatcher Room,
Portcullis House

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Subject: DFID's bilateral programme of assistance to India
Witnesses: The Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for International Development, and Dr Charlotte Seymour-Smith, Head, DFID India

2.30 p.m.

6

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT SUB-COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Subject: Environmental Education: a follow-up to Learning the Sustainability Lesson
Witnesses: Groundwork and GirlGuiding UK ( at approximately 4.00 p.m.)

3.20 p.m.

20

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS SUB-COMMITTEE ON THE FUTURE FOR UK FISHING
Subject: Future for UK Fishing
Witnesses: South Western Fish Producers Organisation; Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (at approximately 4.00 p.m.); Anglo-North Irish Fish Producers Organisation (at approximately 4.30 p.m.)

3.30 p.m.

The Wilson Room,
Portcullis House

Wednesday 8 December

EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Subject: Education Outside the Classroom and Teaching Children to Read
Witnesses: Mr Stephen Twigg MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Mr Andrew McCully, Director, School Standards, and Dr Kevan Collins, Director, National Primary Strategy, Department for Education and Skills

9.30 a.m.

The Wilson Room,
Portcullis House

WORK AND PENSIONS *w
Subject: Pension Credit
Witnesses: Malcolm Wicks MP, Minister of State for Pensions, Department for Work and Pensions, and Alexis Cleveland, Chief Executive, Pensions Service

9.45 a.m.

The Grimond Room,
Portcullis House

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS SUB-COMMITTEE ON THE FUTURE FOR UK FISHING w
Subject: Future for UK Fishing
Witness: Mr Ben Bradshaw MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

10.00 a.m.

15

HEALTHw
Subject: Public Expenditure 2004
Witness: Rt Hon John Reid MP, Secretary of State for Health

10.00 a.m.

The Thatcher Room,
Portcullis House

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY*w
Subjects: Human reproductive technologies and the law
Witnesses: The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the British Fertility Society

10.30 a.m.

8

PROCEDURE
Subject: Sub Judice Rule of the House of Commons
Witnesses: Mr Roger Sands, Clerk of the House of Commons, and Ms Helen Irwin, Principle Clerk, Table Office, House of Commons

2.15 p.m.

17

EUROPEAN SCRUTINY
Subject: The EU's constitutional treaty
Witnesses: Professor Piet Eeckhout, and Professor Grainne de Burca

2.30 p.m.

19

TREASURY SUB-COMMITTEE
Subject: Excise Duty Fraud
Witnesses: Scotch Whisky Association, and the British Beer and Pub Association

2.30 p.m.

The Thatcher Room,
Portcullis House

TRANSPORT*w
Subject: Performance of London Underground
Witnesses: ASLEF, RMT and TSSA; Mayor of London and London Underground Limited (at approximately 3.30 p.m.); Metronet and Tube Lines (at approximately 4.15 p.m.)

2.45 p.m.

8

ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Subject: Climate Change: Looking Forward
Witnesses: Sir David King, Government's Chief Scientific Advisor; Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research (at approximately 4.00 p.m.); and Biosciences Federation (at approximately 4.45 p.m.)

3.00 p.m.

The Wilson Room,
Portcullis House

ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT
Subject: International Leadership on Climate Change
Witnesses: British Airways; BAA (at approximately 3.50 p.m.); Shell (at approximately 4.30 p.m.)

3.20 p.m.

20

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
Subject: Tackling congestion by making better use of England's motorways and trunk roads
Witness: Mr Archie Robertson OBE, Chief Executive, Highways Agency

3.30 p.m.

16

NORTHERN IRELAND AFFAIRS*w
Subject: Functions of the Northern Ireland Police Board
Witnesses: Northern Ireland Policing Board; Police Service of Northern Ireland (at approximately 4.30 p.m.); HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (at approximately 5.15 p.m.)

3.45 p.m.

15

Joint Committee

DRAFT MENTAL HEALTH BILL
Witnesses: Professor Nigel Eastman, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist and Professor of Law and Ethics in Psychiatry; Professor Tony Maden, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry; the Zito Trust; Revolving Doors Agency and NACRE (at approximately 10.35 a.m.)

9.45 a.m.

The Boothroyd Room,
Portcullis House

Thursday 10 December

TREASURYw
Subject: The 2004 Pre-Budget Report
Witnesses: (i) Mr Robert Chote, Mr Martin Weale, Mr David Walton, Dr Peter Spencer; (ii) Mr Robert Chote, Mr Martin Weale, Mr John Whiting (at approximately 10.45 a.m.)

9.30 a.m.

The Thatcher Room,
Portcullis House

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION *w
Subject: Government by Inquiry
Witnesses: Sir Michael Bichard KCB; Sir Louis Blom-Cooper QC; Sir Ian Kennedy; and Rt Hon Lord Morris of Manchester AO QSO (at approximately 11.30 a.m.)

10.15 a.m.

The Grimond Room,
Portcullis House

HEALTH
Subject: The Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism in Hospitalised Patients
Witnesses: Southampton University NHS Trust; Royal College of Surgeons of England; Barts; the London Medical School; Oxford Haemophilia Centre and Thrombosis Unit; Lifeblood; Department of Health officials; National Institute of Clinical Excellence and National Patient Safety Agency (at approximately 11.45 a.m.)

10.30 a.m.

The Wilson Room,
Portcullis House