2 The Committee's work in 2008-09
28. The table below shows how our work fitted into
the core tasks for select committees set out by the Liaison Committee
on behalf of the House. As can be seen, most inquiries cover more
than a single objective. Our programme is driven by the need to
respond to policy developments, to set the agenda in areas where
public policy is not operating as it should, and to make sure
we can sustain scrutiny of the Department. The core tasks provide
a useful framework to ensure that we do not inadvertently neglect
part of our remit.
| Subject | Departmental policy
| Examination of deficiencies | Document and decision
| Expenditure | PSAs | Regulation and Agencies
| Legislation and initiatives |
| Energy Policy | v
| v | |
| | v |
|
| Ofcom, pre-appointment hearing |
| | | |
| v | |
| Regional Development Agencies |
| | | v
| v | v
| v |
| Hooper Review/Postal Services Bill | v
| | v |
| | v | v
|
| Insolvency Service | v
| | | v
| | v | v
|
| Pub companies | v
| v | |
| | v |
|
| Post Offices- Securing their future | v
| | | |
| v | v
|
| Automotive Assistance Programme | v
| v | | v
| | | v
|
| Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme | v
| v | | v
| | | v
|
| Strategic Export Control | v
| v | v
| | | v
| |
| Higher Value-Added Economy | v
| | | | v
| | |
| Exporting Out of Recession | v
| v | |
| v | v
| v |
| Digital Britain | v
| | v |
| | | v
|
| Support for SMEs | v
| v | | v
| v | |
|
| Department's response to the recession |
v | | v
| v | v
| | |
Task 1: Scrutiny of policy proposals
29. In our view, an important part of this task is to maintain
a "watching brief" over policy development, as well
as to look at new proposals. The Committee has continued its
policy of monitoring at the European developments; staff monitor
the output of the European Scrutiny Committee and we continued
our policy of a regular visit to Brussels to discuss developments
within the European Union.
30. As explained above, one of the key tasks of the
year has been to monitor the Government's reaction to the economic
crisis, and the policies drawn up to deal with it. This included
taking oral evidence from the Department under the following headings:
financial support for SMEs (December 2008);[15]
the work of BERR in the current crisis, (May 2009);[16]
and the work of the department for Business, Innovation &
Skills in the current crisis (June 2009) and (July 2009).
[17]
31. We also held an evidence session on so the Digital
Britain Interim Report in March 2009.[18]
Not only did this enable us to keep abreast of developing policy
proposals, it gave valuable background information for our current
inquiry into Broadband speed.
Task 2: To identify and examine
areas of emerging policy, or where existing policy is deficient,
and make proposals
POST OFFICES: SECURING THEIR FUTURE
32. The Committee has been monitoring policy on the
Post Office network of many years, and in our Report last year
we noted that the Government had asked us to undertake a major
inquiry into the future of the Post Office network. We had accepted
this invitation, on the condition that we set our own terms of
reference and methods of inquiry. We were particularly concerned
to explore what the public expected and wanted from the network.
33. Our report[19]
looked at the network from first principles. It was clear from
our evidence that people expected the state to ensure that information
about its services was widely available, and did not consider
e-delivery alone was sufficient. People considered the dual role
of the Post Office in providing both public services and private
amenities, such as shopping facilities, vital for sustaining community
life. We concluded that:
By chance rather than design, the Government has
ended up supporting local economies and providing information
and services to its citizens through the post office network,
in which a publicly-owned company works with a variety of private
enterprises. It is unlikely that anyone would have invented this
system; nonetheless, it exists and it is effective. It is possible
that the network can be sustained in a way which generates revenue
rather than consumes it. However, any decisions on the company's
operations or the services it offers must recognize that the nationwide
post office network needs to be sustained, and sustaining it will
meet the wider objectives of any government.[20]
34. This conclusion led us to emphasise the need
for all government departments to recognise the role the network
could play in ensuring their services were accessible to all citizens,
and to urge local authorities to make more services available
from post offices.
PUB COMPANIES
35. While the focus of the core tasks is, properly,
on scrutiny of the Government in a narrow case, it sometimes it
is important to take a wider view, looking at the way the legal
and regulatory framework within which markets operate. Last year's
Annual Report drew attention to the relationship between pub companies
and their tenants as an area where "there is little existing
policy and the question is whether policy intervention is needed."[21]
Our follow-up to the Trade and Industry Committee's inquiry[22]
revealed that the problems identified by our predecessors remained.
There was inequality of bargaining power between pub companies
and their lessees; the way in which rents were calculated was
opaque, and made tied tenants worse off than those free of tie;
there was no low-cost mediation in case of rent disputes. In
addition to normal evidence gathering methods, we commissioned
a survey which gave objective evidence of the poor rewards available
to tied tenants, the low levels of satisfaction with the tie and
high levels of tenant traction with their pub company. We recommended
that the Government should intervene, and that there should be
an urgent inquiry by the Competition Commission.
REFERENCE TO THE OFT
36. On 24 July 2009 CAMRA made a super complaint
to the OFT about the operation of the beer tie. The OFT has since
found no evidence of market abuse. We are unsurprised by the
finding (which is why we felt a broader Competition Commission
inquiry was desirable). We continue to believe that reform is
necessary.[23]
Task 3: Scrutiny of bills
37. The Committee continued to engage with legislation
directly. Last Session we noted that the Committee's programme
had been arranged so that we could report on the RDA aspects of
the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction
Bill, if we decided it was necessary to do so. We did indeed
produce a report,[24]
setting out the ways in which policy had evolved between the first
publication of the Government's Review of sub national economic
development and regeneration and the proposals in the Bill.
38. Our major work on legislation related to legislation
before the House of Lords, rather than the Commons. The Postal
Services Review was published on 16 December, and the Postal Service
Bill [Lords], which was built on the Review's findings,
was introduced into the Lords on 24 February. We held three evidence
sessions on the proposals; from Lord Mandelson when he appeared
before the Committee on 14 January; we took evidence from Mr Richard
Hooper, the author of the Review, and from the Communication Workers
Union (CWU) on 20 January and from the Chairman and Chief Executive
of Postcomm and the Chief Executive and the Commercial Director,
Letters Business, of Royal Mail on 24 February. This enabled us
to agree a Report on the Bill on 23 March.[25]
The Report was drawn on extensively in House of Lords Committee
proceedings.
Task 4: To examine specific outputs
from the Department
39. We hold regular hearings on documents such as
The Departmental Annual Report, but also scrutinise other outputs
when appropriate. At the end of this Session, we held an evidence
session on the 2008-09 Departmental Report. Although the evidence
covered a wide range of outputs from the Department, we used this
session to explore in detail, the establishment of the new Department
for Business, Innovation and Skills.[26]
40. In addition to scrutiny of draft legislation,
the Committees on Arms Export Controls continued to monitor the
quarterly reports from the Government.
Task 5: Scrutiny of expenditure
plans and outturns
41. Each year the Committee takes evidence from the
Permanent Secretary on the Departmental Annual Report and Accounts.
Our staff also examine the Estimates and Estimates memoranda submitted
by the Department, with the invaluable help of the Scrutiny Unit.
Task 6: Scrutinising Public Service
Agreements and targets
42. This task underpins a great deal of our work,
and is usually addressed as part of other, broader enquiries,
most notably our regular work on expenditure plans and outturns.
As we indicated last Session, our work on Regional Development
Agencies addressed PSA 7 (Improve the economic performance of
all English regions and reduce the gap in economic growth rates
between regions) for which BERR had responsibility. BERR's other
PSAs - PSA 1 (Raise the productivity of the UK economy ) and PSA
6 (Deliver the conditions for business success in the UK) underpinned
our work on the Higher Value-Added Economy. Our scrutiny of the
Government's actions in response to the financial crisis. It was
important in other inquiries, such as current work on the motor
sport and aerospace industries. The inquiry into the Higher Value-Added
economy also addressed DIUS's two PSAs: PSA 2 (Improve the skills
of the population on the way to ensuring a world-class skills
base by 2020) and PSA 4 (Promote world-class science and innovation
in the UK).
Task 7: Monitoring the work of
agencies and other public bodies
43. Like all departmental select committees, we
monitor the agencies in the non-departmental bodies associated
with the Department we scrutinise. BERR is also responsible for
Royal Mail Group (and its subsidiary, Post Office Ltd), which
is wholly owned by the Government - we have already described
our work on the post office network and on the Postal Services
Bill [Lords] in earlier paragraphs.
44. We have a policy of taking evidence from at least
one Agency a year. This year we looked at the Insolvency Service.
In addition, we monitor the work of regulators. This often takes
place in the context of other inquiries—so, for example,
we looked at Postcomm as part of our work on the Postal Services
Bill [Lords]—but we normally hold an annual hearing
on Ofcom's Annual Report and Accounts, jointly with colleagues
on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. That did not take place
this Session, since we had held sessions with the new Chairman,
and with the Minister on Digital Britain, However, on 28 June
we announced an inquiry into Broadband speed, a key proposal contained
within the Digital Britain Report, and took evidence from internet
providers and consumer organisations on 2 November.[27]
Task 8: Scrutiny of major appointments
The Committee held one pre-appointment hearing during
the session, with Dr Colette Bowe, the Chairman designate of OFCOM.
We held this meeting together with our colleagues on the Culture,
Media and Sport Committee. During the Session we explored the
amount of time that Dr Bowe would give to the post, given her
other professional commitments, and received assurances that OFCOM
would be her priority. We considered her a suitable candidate.[28]
Task 9: Implementation of legislation
and major policy initiatives
45. As we have described in the introduction, much
of our work this year has concentrated on monitoring the policy
initiatives the Government proposed to deal with the financial
crisis. In addition, the inquiry into the Insolvency Service dealt
with pre-pack administrations, which have increased in number
following the changes to insolvency procedures contained in the
Enterprise Act 2002.
Task 10: Debates in Westminster
Hall and the Chamber
46. The Committee's work has informed several debates
in the Commons, as well as influencing proceedings on the Postal
Services Bill in the House of Lords. On the 16 December 2008,
the Committee's work on Energy was the subject of an Estimates
Day debate. The Committee also secured an Estimates Day debate
on 9 March, to discuss the work of the Department for Business,
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. On 1 June the Report on the
Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill was
tagged to that Bill's Second Reading. Most recently, the Committees
on Arms Export Controls, of which our Committee is a constituent
part, secured a Westminster Hall debate on 5 November 2009.
15 Session 2008-08, HC 90-i Back
16
Session 2008-09, HC 143-ii Back
17
Session 2008-09, HC 754-i and HC 754-ii Back
18
Session 2008-09, HC 331-i Back
19
Eighth Report of Session 2008-09, Post offices-securing their
future, HC 371 Back
20
Ibid., para 32 Back
21
Third Report of Session 2007-08, Work of the Committee in 2007-08,
HC175, para 28 Back
22
Second Report of Session 2004-05, Pub Companies, HC 128 Back
23
The Committee took evidence on Pub companies on 8 December. Back
24
Fourth Report of Session 2007-08, Regional development agencies
and the Local Democracy, Economic Development and construction
Bill, HC 89 Back
25
Fifth Report of Session 2008-09, The Postal Services Bill,
HC 172 Back
26
A Report Creation of the new Department and Departmental Report
2009 was published as the First Report of Session 2009-10
(HC 160). Back
27
A further evidence session was held on 24 November. Back
28
Second Report of Session 2008-09, Pre-appointment hearing with
the Chairman-elect of Ofcom, Dr Colette Bowe, HC 119 Back
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