committees

• In 2013, a Joint Committee scrutinising the Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill recommended that all prisoners serving sentences of up to 12 months should be able to vote in all UK elections. The Government did not formally respond, and these proposals were not taken forward, even after Gove promised to in 2015.
• There are six permanent Lords Committees, with 12 members instead of 11. Examples include the International Relations committee. Other ad-hoc committees include the Communications committee who produced a report on televised election debates in 2014.
• Only roughly 40% of select committee suggestions are taken on board by the government.
• Select committee and public bill committee chairs can both be from any party despite them reflecting the party composition of the house. For example, the chair of the Business and Trade select committee in 2024 was Labour MP Liam Byrne who had worked in several posts within the treasury.
• The Renters Reform Bill committee is chaired by Labour MP Yvonne Fovargue, DUP MP Ian Paisley and Conservative MP James Gray.
• Relevant ministers may sit on public bill committtees. For example, Rebecca Pow, DEFRA minister sat on the 2019 Environment Bill committee.
• George Monbiot, environmental activist, was called as an expert witness by the 2019 Environment Bill Committee
• Select committees scrutinise spending of government. For example the Public Accounts Committee launched an inquiry into the HS2 rail project in 2013
• Select committees may suggest policy direction. For example, the Treasury Select Committee urged the government to consider extending COVID-19 furlough scheme.
• Select committees investigate high profile issues, like Netflix's duty of care with Baby Reindeer by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in 2024 and the 2016 BHS pensions scandal
• Select committee chair elections can be very close, for example Julian Knight won by only 9 votes as Culture, Media and Sport chair. The secret ballot introduced in 2010 has enhanced this.
• Select committees are permanent while public bill committees only last the duration of a bill
• Public bill committees are whipped so governments are likely to face little significant opposition. In 2017 it was estimated that only 1.5% of opposition amendments were accepted at this stage
• Select committees aim for consensus and unamity compared to public bill committees which are quite partisan
• SInce 2003, select committee chairs enjoy an additional salary and elevated media profile providing parliamentary career advancement outside of government, limiting the power of patronage
• In 2016, Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley was forced to answer questions about work practices in his company by a select committee
• Roles of select committees

  • suggest policy direction
  • scrutinise government spending
  • review government appointments
  • call witnesses and conduct hearings
  • investigate high profile issues
• In 2017 Amanda Spielman was rejected as head of Ofsted after the Education select committee intervened. Spielman was appointed anyway.
• Former immigration minister Caroline Nokes faced tough questioning from a select committee and ended up being accused of misleading parliament. However she later became chair of the Women and Equalities Committee in 2020.
• Select committees published 267 reports between 2017 and 2019, of which a fifth concerned Brexit.