1 Introduction
1. It is now two years since select committees were
re-established in the current Parliament and it is a good time
to take stock of where we are, assess what we have achieved and
identify what we should do better. Select committees have been
around for centuries, but our current system of departmentally-focused
select committees dates from 1979, a radical reform for which
we must pay tribute to Norman St John Stevas, Mrs Thatcher's first
Leader of the House of Commons, who died earlier this year. In
the current Parliament, committees have been strengthened by a
number of "Wright reforms" reforms agreed in
2010 following the 2009 report of the Reform of the House of Commons
Committee, chaired by Tony Wright[1]:
direct election of most chairs by the whole House of Commons,
open elections of committee members within each Party (instead
of nomination by the Whips), and a clear expectation of good attendance,
underpinned by a "60% rule" (with members not attending
at least 60% of meetings in a Session at risk of removal). Select
committees are now a firmly established feature of our parliamentary
democracy, with a high profile in the media and at least
relatively good standing in the eye of the public.
2. The 2009 Wright Committee acknowledged the importance
of select committees but also noted the demands they placed on
Members' time:
Select committees have rightly won respect for the
work they do and they are being asked to take on an increasing
number of tasks on behalf of the House. As a result committee
members find it increasingly difficult to devote time to select
committee work as well as all their other duties. We consider
that the Liaison Committee should re-examine the current role
of select committees, their resources and their tasks, and in
particular how to deal with the increasing demands of time made
of Members as their role grows.[2]
In its response, our predecessor Liaison Committee
undertook to consider the issues raised by the recommendation
and report further in due course.[3]
In February 2010, the House approved the recommendation and welcomed
"the Liaison Committee's proposal to carry out a review of
the role, resources and tasks of select committees."[4]
3. This call for a review was echoed in a report
by the Hansard Society on Select Committee Tasks and Modes
of Operations in 2011. It found that select committees were
"now the principal mechanism through which the House of Commons
hold the executive to account" and that recent reforms had
"increased their status and sharpened their operation";
but it thought that "more could be achieved" and recommended
that the Liaison Committee undertake a "proper review of
its tasks and resources".[5]
4. We agreed on the need for a review: we felt there
was much we could be proud of, but also areas where we needed
to do better. Increased activity levels and growing demands on
elected Chairs have brought into question whether committees are
adequately resourced, and whether those resources are used to
best effect. We wanted committees to become fully operational,
and to see the impact of the Wright reforms, before reaching conclusions
on our role and resources. Events during 2011, particularly the
Culture, Media and Sport Committee's inquiry into Phone Hacking,
also brought into question the powers that are available to us:
particularly our power to ensure the attendance of witnesses and
the truth of evidence.
5. In December 2011 we therefore announced an inquiry
into select committee powers and effectiveness and issued a call
for evidence, inviting views, in particular, on the following
questions:
- Are select committees effective
in achieving better government? What can they do to be more effective?
- Are the core tasks set by the House for select
committees in 2002 still realistic given the limitations on Members'
time?
- Do select committees have the powers and resources
they need to carry out their scrutiny function effectively?
- Are members of select committees given the training
and support they need to operate effectively?
- How might select committees get better coverage
for those aspects of their work which are important but not attractive
to the media?
- How can select committees get the public engaged
more actively in their work?
- Should select committees have an increased legislative
role?
- How can select committees scrutinise cross-cutting
issues more effectively?
6. We received 37 written memoranda: 24 from other
committees and committee chairs, 10 from external witnesses, and
three from within the House of Commons Service. We held an evidence
session in February 2012 with a panel of distinguished external
observers. In addition, we had a number of informal meetings.
The Institute for Government hosted a seminar for us with participants
from the civil service and arm's length bodies (to learn how we
can be more effective in influencing Government). We met Rt Hon
Jack Straw MP (to gain the perspective of a former Minister),
and separately representatives of the Parliamentary Lobby (to
understand better how to get our message heard in the media).
7. It has been customary for the Liaison Committee
in previous Parliaments to produce an annual report summarising
the activities of committees and highlighting common themes and
concerns. This year, we encouraged committees to send us a memorandum,
setting out what they had achieved during the 2010-12 parliamentary
Session but also reflecting on what could be done better. These
memoranda are all published on our website, alongside the written
evidence received from other witnesses.
8. Within the Liaison Committee we have reflected
collectively on committee effectiveness in general, and also on
the effectiveness of the Liaison Committee itself. We set up a
working group of committee chairs to look into committee resources
and staffing and appointed a rapporteur (the Hon Bernard Jenkin
MP) to consider committee powers.
9. Our inquiry has also been informed by research
by the UCL Constitution Unit into the impact of seven committees
from 1997 to 2010[6] and
by the Hansard Society's review of select committees' operations.[7]
10. We are grateful to all those who have contributed
to our inquiry, and look forward to their continued engagement
in discussion of the recommendations we make in this report.
1 Reform of the House of Commons Select Committee,
First Report of Session 2008-09, Rebuilding the House,
HC 1117. Back
2
Ibid, para 93. Back
3
Liaison Committee, First Report of Session 2009-10, Rebuilding
the House: Select Committee issues, HC 272, paras 26-28. Back
4
Votes and Proceedings, 22 February 2010, item 12. Back
5
Alex Brazier and Ruth Fox, Reviewing Select Committee Tasks
and Modes of Operation, Parliamentary Affairs, Vol 64 No 2,
April 2011. Back
6
Selective Influence: The Policy Impact of House of Commons
Select Committees, Meg Russell and Meghan Benton, Constitution
Unit, UCL, June 2011. Back
7
Parliamentary Affairs, Vol 64 No 2, April 2011. Back
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