Working Methods
46. In general, we follow the standard Select Committee
method of working—that is to say, inviting written memoranda,
and subsequently taking oral evidence. We continue to make it
our practice to take evidence in public unless there are overwhelming
reasons not to do so, which was not the case at any stage in 2007.
This principle was particularly important when we held our inquiry
into Propriety and Peerages and there were suggestions in certain
quarters that we might look at evidence collected by the police
in the course of their investigation into "cash for honours".
To do so would have meant proceeding in private, which, given
the public interest in transparency, we were not prepared to do.
47. However, there are occasions when we have gone
beyond the standard Select Committee inquiry format. For example,
we continue to arrange seminars to discuss important questions
of public administration. We held two such seminars in 2007. The
first, in May, concerned our then-nascent inquiry into commissioning
public services from the Third Sector, and was invaluable in shaping
our inquiry. The second seminar, already mentioned, took place
in June and discussed issues arising from our Ethics and Standards
report. We are grateful to all of our participants, and continue
to commend this approach to other committees. We are particularly
grateful to the National Audit Office, which has provided valuable
background briefing on a number of areas, as well as staff support.
We are also grateful to all of our Specialist Advisers this year,
who have aided us on a number of inquiries, and we have also relied
at times on assistance from the Hansard Society and the House
of Commons Library.
48. We also continue to use committee visits, both
within and outside the United Kingdom, to inform our inquiries
and our general understanding of public administration. During
2007 our visits have helped to frame the findings of our inquiries,
and also to influence us in deciding on future inquiries. Details
of our visits during the period are in table 3 below. Where possible,
we use visits to inform more than one inquiry.
Table 3: Visits by the Public Administration Select Committee in 2007
