Annex B: Examples of good committee practice
Start of inquiry
1) Seminar held at think tank to discuss future programme
and published in press release with intention of stimulating comment
and engagement (Defence)
2) Asking public for suggestions for inquiries and
publishing them with explanation for decision (Transport)
3) Away day with stakeholders (Education)
4) Quarterly reviews of committee programme—ensuring
a mix of reactive and pro-active enquires (Justice)
5) Communications plans or media strategies for inquiries—(Communities
and Local Government, Education, Science and Technology, Political
and Constitutional Reform)
6) Formal planning meetings prior to commencement
of each inquiry (Defence)
7) Programme a year ahead and strategy set to the
end of the Parliament (Communities and Local Government).
During inquiry
1) Putting witnesses at ease by inviting them into
committee room in private to meet Members before oral evidence
session starts (Science and Technology)
2) Pursuing four strands of Strategic Defence and
Security Review with paper-based inquiries led by individual rapporteurs
(Defence)
3) Half-time reviews of current inquiries to check
they are meeting objectives (Communities and Local Government)
4) Setting up web forum hosted by NAO to get view
of service personnel (Defence)
5) Use of Twitter to publicise school sports inquiry
attracted 2,500 followers (Education)
6) 'Speed dating' sessions to get views of local
councillors (Communities and Local Government)
7) Twitter account used to solicit questions for
the Big Six energy companies on energy price rises (Energy and
Climate Change)
8) Review of academic work on traffic growth commissioned
from Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (Transport)
9) Oral evidence session in Sheffield on carbon capture
and storage to coincide with Committee visit to a local CCS pilot
facility (Energy and Climate Change)
10) Experimenting with rapporteurs on financial scrutiny
(Public Administration)
11) Commissioning advice from Scrutiny Unit on departmental
estimates and following up with the government department in writing
(Education, Energy and Climate Change)
12) Thread on Money Saving Expert about complaints
handling (Public Administration)
13) Making TV recordings of meetings away from Westminster
for broadcast (Scottish Affairs)
14) Informally monitoring statistics of gender of
witnesses giving evidence to the Committee (Public Administration)
15) E-consultation to seek views of court interpreters
(Justice)
16) Meeting benefit recipients in more informal setting
to get the best out of them (Work and Pensions)
17) Informal arrangement by which one member takes
a lead on particular subject throughout inquiry (Education)
18) Looking at impact of savings programme across
all inquiries not just annual report (Foreign Affairs)
19) Web forum on transport for disabled people—with
help from Parliamentary Outreach—committee members taking
journeys in constituencies with individuals to experience transport
difficulties (Transport)
20) Oral evidence session held at Greenwich on maritime
strategy to coincide with London International Shipping week (Transport)
21) Twitter account used to solicit questions for
Mary Portas (Communities and Local Government)
22) Research commissioned from Oxera on new hub airport
for SE England (Transport)
23) Providing British Sign Language for oral evidence
session on Access to Work for disabled people (Work and Pensions)
24) Selective use of video conferencing to take evidence
(Foreign Affairs, Environmental Audit, Energy and Climate Change)
25) The Communities and Local Government Committee
used Storify to report back on its two #AskPickles evidence sessions.
In each case, it brought together a number of tweets, video clips
and examples of media coverage, to tell the story of the exercise
and demonstrate its impact.
26) Use of independent specialist advisers appointed
by the Treasury Committee, working from within the regulator,
to ensure that regulators' reports are a fair and balanced account
of the evidence (Treasury)
27) It is worth noting that the Northern Ireland
Affairs Committee, for example, endeavours to hold at least one
public evidence session in Northern Ireland on all its inquiries.
Report
1) Trying to produce fewer, more tightly-focused
recommendations (Environmental Audit, Welsh Affairs)
2) Large screen used to display amendments as committee
considered draft report (Energy and Climate Change)
3) Statements made on the floor of the House on publication
of reports (Communities and Local Government, Culture Media and
Sport, Defence, Education, Energy and Climate Change, Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs, European Scrutiny, Foreign Affairs, International
Development, Justice, Liaison, Procedure, Public Accounts, Public
Administration, Political and Constitutional Reform, Transport,
Work and Pensions)
4) Reducing length of reports, prioritising recommendations
in some reports and using less legalistic language (Justice)
5) Including infographics in reports (Environmental
Audit, Energy and Climate Change)
6) Short film launching Primates as Pets report was
the first of its kind (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
7) Publishing reports in time to inform debates in
the House (Political and Constitutional Reform, Environmental
Audit, Energy and Climate Change).
After inquiry
1) Monitoring implementation of recommendations by
traffic lights (Public Administration, Home Affairs, Transport,
Political and Constitutional Reform)
2) Six month follow up on implementation of reports
(Defence)
3) Survey of previous oral witnesses to gather views
on performance of committees in public evidence session (Education)
4) Holding debate in Westminster Hall to follow up
on perfunctory government response on Work programme (Work and
Pensions)
5) Appointing a Member to lead on the follow-up to
each inquiry (Education).
Other
1) European Scrutiny Committee seeking opinions from
other committees on EU documents
2) Giving formal opinion to European Scrutiny Committee
on EU Commission communication Towards a more competitive and
efficient defence and security sector (Defence)
3) Legislative scrutiny places substantial pressures
on committee resources and time (Communities and Local Government)
4) Use of professional trainers (Environmental Audit,
Welsh Affairs)
5) Foreign Affairs Committee conducts scrutiny of
treaties (not in core tasks)
6) Move to paperless distribution of committee papers
has improved conduct of meetings (Work and Pensions, Welsh Affairs)
7) NAO help provided with monthly bulletin of sustainable
development (Environmental Audit)
8) Concerns about timing and quality of government
responses (Communities and Local Government)
9) Outreach programme with local authorities sharing
scrutiny practice (Communities and Local Government)
10) Joint working on EU JHA issues between Justice,
Home Affairs and European Scrutiny Committees
11) Justice triggered enhanced scrutiny mechanism
in respect of Orders under Public Bodies Act 2011—Administrative
Justice and Tribunals order.
12) Political and Constitutional Reform Committee
as key player in field of political and constitutional research
and policy making
13) Defence and other committees conducted inquiries
into the implications of Scottish independence
14) "All Members of the Education Committee
treat witnesses with respect and courtesy"
15) Justice: "witnesses are always treated with
respect and courtesy and given a fair hearing"
16) Scottish Affairs takes a searchlight approach
to inquiries
17) Both Scottish Affairs and Public Administration
have been clerked by job sharers
18) Scottish Affairs has not been allowed by the
Scottish Parliament to hold meetings at Holyrood but Welsh Affairs
has good relations with the National Assembly for Wales and has
been able to use their meeting rooms in Cardiff
19) Northern Ireland Affairs Committee has excellent
relations with both the NI Assembly and the NI Executive. For
example, the then Speaker of the Assembly rang the Committee staff
to offer the Committee the use of the Senate Chamber at Stormont
for its public evidence sessions, and the Chairs of two of the
Assembly's Committees invited NIAC to Stormont to take public
evidence from them on its "Banking" inquiry. NIAC has
regular informal meetings with NI Ministers, and has also taken
public evidence from them on several occasions
20) The Administration Committee and its staff regularly
talk to overseas delegations (regular visits organised by Overseas
Office and CPA) about the work of the Committee. From this word
spread about our report 'First Weeks at Westminster' and as a
result colleagues in Iraq, Hong Kong and Tanzania whom we had
not met asked for copies of the report to find out about the Committee's
approach to induction of Members
21) A new proactive media approach with a dedicated
media officer has resulted in positive coverage of some major
initiatives of the Administration Committee
which have not resulted from inquiries but Committee decisions—allowing
commercial filming of 'Suffragette', new camera angles in the
Chamber, offering banqueting rooms for hire.
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