1 Introduction
1. This will be our final review of the work of select
committees before the 2010 General Election. For many committees,
their sessional reports for 2008-09 will similarly be their last
in the current Parliament. Our report reviews the same period
but its comments extend into 2009-10, to cover recent developments
on some issues. It gives a flavour of the wide variety of work
carried out by the House's select committees and highlights some
of the areas in which they have made an impact on the policy formation
process. It also traces new developments—some introduced,
some imminent—that stand to affect the conduct of select
committee work, if not in the remainder of this Parliament, then
certainly in the next.
2. After 30 years of what most observers would agree
to have been successful operation, the departmental select committee
system continues to evolve. In 2008-09 the new arrangements for
pre-appointment hearings were used more widely, not entirely without
controversy; committee scrutiny of National Policy Statements
(NPSs) began; and new regional select committees were established.
We report on the innovative ways in which committees have sought
to engage with the public on specific issues and also comment
on our own role in supporting the work of committees and the maintenance
of a constructive dialogue with the Government.
3. In a year that was dominated by the banking crisis
and the impact of the recession it is only necessary to look as
far as the Treasury Committee to illustrate how effective select
committees can be in influencing the public policy agenda. The
spectacle of leading bankers, regulators and Ministers being held
to account by the Committee for their roles in the UK banking
crisis featured regularly on rolling news coverage. The televised
sessions provided a voice for public dissatisfaction and a prominent
input to the Government's response to the situation. That is but
one high profile issue which, taken with the effects of the recession,
occupied the time of five other select committees during the session.
But there was plenty of time for other issues. Look beneath the
surface of any new major policy and there can usually be found
a select committee taking evidence, analysing and making recommendations
to Government, frequently outside the glare of the public spotlight.
That is true in respect of the supply of equipment for British
troops in Afghanistan, the rights of Gurkhas to settle in the
UK, the future of the railways, sentencing guidelines and carbon
trading, to pick just a few subjects. It should also be acknowledged
that some press coverage of select committees' work was probably
nudged out by the blanket coverage afforded to the issue of parliamentary
expenses that so dominated the second half of the session. One
of the indirect consequences of the turmoil caused by this issue
was the establishment of the Committee on House of Commons Reform.
This reported at the very end of the session and made a number
of proposals which may, if implemented, have a significant impact
on the way in which select committees are perceived and how they
operate.[1] We have reported
separately on these proposals, some of which are currently still
before the House for decision as we consider this report.[2]
4. Much of the work that Members of Parliament do
outside the Chamber, including that on select committees, goes
unseen by press and constituents alike. Select committees are
more demanding than ever before in terms of the time commitment
required of Members. The establishment of nine new regional select
committees during the session exacerbated these pressures.[3]
Levels of activity and output in 2008-09 were broadly in line
with the previous year. However, the length of this parliamentary
session was some eight weeks shorter than 2007-08, meaning that
committees worked significantly more intensively than the previous
year. Detailed figures and comparisons are contained in Chapter
5.
5. In summary, there were 565 places on select committees
occupied by Members of the House during the session.[4]
Committees held 1,118 formal meetings and published 371 substantive
reports.[5] There are 19
departmental select committees, each monitoring the work of a
Government department. The work of others, such as the Committee
of Public Accounts, Environmental Audit Committee and Public Administration
Select Committee, cuts across a wide range of Government departments.
Similarly, the issue of human rights is not confined to one department:
responsibility for this subject lies with the Joint Committee
on Human Rights (JCHR) which contains members of both the House
of Commons and House of Lords.
Work of the Liaison Committee:
an overview
6. The Liaison Committee comprises of the chairs
of most select committees in the House and meets periodically
during the session, roughly on a monthly basis. It has a number
of functions, some clearly defined, others which have evolved
over the years. An example of the first type is that under the
House's Standing Orders the Liaison Committee is required to select
the reports to be debated on days allocated on the floor of the
House and in Westminster Hall for the consideration of departmental
Estimates and matters raised by select committees.
7. The more evolutionary role is encompassed by the
requirement under Standing Orders for the Committee "to consider
general matters relating to select committees" and to advise
the House of Commons Commission—and, increasingly, other
committees, the House administration and the Government—on
such matters when necessary.[6]
Our meetings provide a forum in which committee chairs can raise
issues which may be relevant to other committees or to the effective
operation of the system as a whole. Where necessary the Liaison
Committee, usually through the chair, pursues matters arising
with the Leader of the House or the Chief Whips. Our aim is to
promote the activities of select committees within the House and
outside; to ensure that they have the resources necessary to do
their jobs; and to secure the full co-operation of the Government
with select committees. In a nutshell, we see it as our role to
help ensure the smooth running of effective parliamentary scrutiny
by select committees. This report represents the more formal part
of the dialogue with the Government on these issues; we refer
in Chapter 3 to the main problems which we believe need attention.
8. In addition to addressing some longstanding wrinkles
in the relationship between committees and Government we have
also considered several new issues during the session. The negotiation
of the new arrangements for handling National Policy Statements
was one such issue: others include the tabling of amendments to
bills by select committees; the handling of confidential papers
and the procedure for dealing with leaks; and the operation of
the new system of pre-appointment hearings. These issues, which
are discussed in Chapter 4, all benefited from the constructive
engagement of the Government with the Liaison Committee. We
are grateful for the positive way in which the Leader of House
and other Ministers co-operated with us on issues of mutual concern
relating to the work of committees during the session.
9. To mark the thirtieth anniversary of the start
of the modern system of departmentally-related select committees,
the Liaison Committee was very pleased to sponsor a seminar in
June 2009 which looked at the impact of committees and assessed
future challenges for them. This event was organised in conjunction
with the Study of Parliament Group and the Hansard Society. It
was attended by a wide range of current and former select committee
chairs and Ministers, academics, political commentators, officials
and interested observers. It proved to be an excellent opportunity
for reflection on the first 30 years of this scrutiny regime and
for a forward-looking exchange on how it might be improved.
10. We also have a direct role to play in holding
the Prime Minister to account. Since 2002 this Committee has held
16 oral evidence sessions with the Prime Minister, at least twice
a year—the only occasions on which the Prime Minister appears
before a select committee. We welcome this opportunity to pursue
matters of current public and parliamentary interest in greater
depth than is allowed by Prime Minister's Questions on the floor
of the House and in a serious, investigative spirit that is more
in line with the bipartisan approach of select committees. We
believe that our regular evidence sessions have the potential
to provide a valuable extra means of holding the Prime Minister
to account but that this potential has not yet been fully realised.
While we look forward to continuing these in the new Parliament,
we will therefore keep the detailed arrangements under review.
| Date
| Meeting
|
| 12.02.08 | Oral evidence from the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP
|
| 23.06.09 | Seminar to mark 30th anniversary of departmental select committee system
|
| 16.07.09 | Oral evidence from the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP
|
1 House of Commons Reform Committee, First Report of
Session 2008-09, Rebuilding the House, HC 1117 Back
2
Liaison Committee, First Report of Session 2009-10, Rebuilding
the House: Select Committee Issues, HC 272 Back
3
See paras 144-145 Back
4
Figure derived from Sessional Returns, Session 2008-09, HC 1 Back
5
Sessional Returns, Session 2008-09, HC 1 Back
6
Standing Order No. 145 Back
7
Table does not include the private meetings of the Committee Back
|
