Parliament and the Executive
non-departmental committees
house of commons
public accounts committee
standards and privileges committee
modernisation committee
liaison committee
European scrutiny committee
political and constitutional affairs committee
gov and expenditure
conduct of MPs and disciplinary cases
est 2005 looks at options for reform
chairs of all select committees
questions PM twice a year
eu documents
est 2010 looks at work of deputy PM on reform
other committees
house of lords
smaller number of committees
in depth inquires on topical issues
e.g affordable childcare committee
joint select committee
consist of MPs and peers
some are permanent
some are temporary
joint committee of human rights
joint committee on modern slavery
Are select committees a good thing
yes
no
less partisan
well informed members develop specialism
members report back to the chamber to inform other MPs
public more transparent
encourage responsible gov taking justifiable actions
can persuade gov to change their course of action
whips used to assign MPs to committees
not well resourced
to much paperwork often shelved
need more power- ministers avoid questions
composition reflects party balance In the commons
Norton report 2002 called for select committees to have more powers
select committees vs standing committees
select committees
standing committees
temporary
non-specialist
examine details of bills in legislative process
larger (16-50 members)
slightly less powerful not investigative can take evidence from experts since 2006
permanent
specialised in department area
monitor and scrutinise work of gov
small (11-16 members)
slightly more