Parliamentary committees of the United Kingdom

Last updated

Committee meetings take place in committee rooms at the Palace of Westminster (right) and Portcullis House (left) Portcullis.house.bigben.arp.jpg
Committee meetings take place in committee rooms at the Palace of Westminster (right) and Portcullis House (left)

The parliamentary committees of the United Kingdom are committees of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Each consists of a small number of Members of Parliament from the House of Commons, or peers from the House of Lords, or a mix of both, appointed to deal with particular areas or issues; most are made up of members of the Commons. The majority of parliamentary committees are select committees. The remit of these committees vary depending on whether they are committees of the House of Commons or the House of Lords.

Contents

House of Commons

House of Commons of the United Kingdom logo 2018.svg

Select committees

A committee of the House of Commons meets in Portcullis House c. 2010 Portcullis House Select Committee.png
A committee of the House of Commons meets in Portcullis House c.2010

Select committees in the Commons are designed to oversee the work of departments and agencies, examine topical issues affecting the country or individual regions or nations, and review and advise on the procedures, workings and rules of the House.

Departmental select committees
CommitteeChairResponsibility
NameSince
Business and Trade Select Committee Liam Byrne 2023 Department for Business and Trade and related bodies
Culture, Media and Sport Committee Caroline Dinenage 2023 Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Defence Select Committee Tan Dhesi 2024 Ministry of Defence
Education Select Committee Helen Hayes 2024 Department for Education and related bodies
Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee Bill Esterson 2024 Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and related bodies
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee Alistair Carmichael 2024 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and associated bodies
Foreign Affairs Select Committee Emily Thornberry 2024 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and associated bodies
Health and Social Care Select Committee Layla Moran 2024 Department of Health and Social Care and related bodies
Home Affairs Select Committee Karen Bradley 2024 Home Office and related bodies
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Florence Eshalomi 2024 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
International Development Select Committee Sarah Champion 2020 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and associated bodies
Justice Select Committee Andy Slaughter 2024 Ministry of Justice, related agencies including the Crown Prosecution Service, and other agencies that report to the Lord Chancellor
Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Tonia Antoniazzi 2024The work of the devolved government and the Northern Ireland Office
Science, Innovation and Technology Committee Chi Onwurah 2024 Government Office for Science, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and related bodies
Scottish Affairs Committee Patricia Ferguson 2024The work of the devolved government and the Scotland Office
Transport Select Committee Ruth Cadbury 2024 Department for Transport
Treasury Select Committee Meg Hillier 2024 Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs
Welsh Affairs Select Committee Ruth Jones 2024The Wales Office and UK Government policies which impact Wales
Women and Equalities Committee Sarah Owen 2024The Government Equalities Office and policies which affect equality law and policy
Work and Pensions Select Committee Debbie Abrahams 2024 Department for Work and Pensions
Topical select committees
CommitteeChairResponsibility
NameSince
Environmental Audit Select Committee Toby Perkins 2024Examines the contribution of government policies to environmental protection and sustainable development
Liaison Committee Examines the work of select committees in general, as well as hearing annual evidence from the Prime Minister
Public Accounts Select Committee Geoffrey Clifton-Brown 2024Examines government and parliamentary expenditure to ensure honesty and fairness
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee Simon Hoare 2024Examines the work and administration of the Civil Service, as well as reports from the Parliamentary Ombudsman
Arms Export Controls Committee Composed of members of the Business, Defence, Foreign Affairs and International Development committees, examines exports of arms from the UK
Regulatory Reform Committee Examines draft legislative reform orders as proposed under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, as well as regulation in general
Select Committee on Statutory Instruments Examines all statutory instruments laid before the Commons
Petitions Jamie Stone 2024Oversees petitions submitted to Parliament
Internal select committees
CommitteeChairResponsibility
NameSince
Administration Committee Examines the services offered to members of the Commons, as well as services offered to the public
Backbench Business Committee Bob Blackman 2024Determines business to be debated at certain times set aside for backbenchers
Finance Committee Examines the budget and expenditure of the House of Commons, including the administration budget
Committee on Standards Alberto Costa 2024Oversees Parliamentary standards and members' interests and conduct
Committee of Privileges Considers specific matters relating to privileges referred to it by the House
Procedure Committee Cat Smith 2024Examines the practice and procedures of the Commons in dealing with public business
Committee of Selection Jessica

Morden

2024Recommends the appointment of members to parliamentary committees

General committees

Others

House of Lords

House of Lords.svg
Lords select committee c. 2013 Lords Select Committee.png
Lords select committee c.2013

The House of Lords appoint Sessional select committees to examine and explore general issues such as the constitution or the economy; the European Union Committee scrutinises EU action via its sub-committees; each session Special Inquiry committees are appointed to examine specific issues.

Topical

Special Inquiry (2019–21 Session)

Legislative

Internal

Domestic

Joint house committees

Joint Committees are committees formed to examine a particular issue, whose membership is from both the Commons and the Lords.

Former committees

Occasionally, committees will be discharged. This occurs when existing committees are no longer required or have their responsibilities transferred to a different committee, effectively rendering the original committee void. It is more common, however, for committees to be discharged as a result of the abolition of government departments, for example the abolition of the Department of Education and Skills in June 2007 resulted in the abolition of the Education and Skills Select Committee shortly afterwards. [2]

Commons

Departmental

Domestic

All five domestic committees were abolished in 2005 and replaced by a single committee – the Administration Committee.

Internal

Legislative

Regional

The House of Commons set up eight regional select committees in November 2008, whose members were first appointed on 3 March 2009. The committees were formed of five Labour members, as opposed to the nine members from various parties as was agreed in the original motion, due to the refusal of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to nominate any members as a sign of their opposition to setting up the committees. [5] The resolution that formed the committees expired at the end of the 2005/10 Parliament. The succeeding coalition government of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats chose not to renew it. [6]

Lords

Topical

  • European Union Committee
    • Environment Sub-Committee
    • Goods Sub-Committee
    • Security & Justice Sub-Committee
    • Services Sub-Committee

Internal

Domestic

Joint

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Lords</span> Upper house of the UK Parliament

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest institutions in the world, its origins lie in the early 11th century and the emergence of bicameralism in the 13th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statutory instrument (UK)</span> Type of secondary legislation in the United Kingdom

A statutory instrument (SI) is the principal form in which delegated legislation is made in Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord Chancellor</span> Great Officer of State in the United Kingdom

The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The lord chancellor is appointed by the sovereign on the advice of the prime minister. Prior to the union of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain, there were separate lord chancellors for the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. There were Lord Chancellors of Ireland until 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasmanian Legislative Council</span> Upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania

The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. Members of the Legislative Council are often referred to as MLCs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Select committee (United Kingdom)</span> Parliamentary committee in the UK

In British politics, parliamentary select committees can be appointed from the House of Commons, like the Foreign Affairs Select Committee; from the House of Lords, like the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee; or as a joint committee of Parliament drawn from both, such as the Joint Committee on Human Rights. Committees may exist as "sessional" committees – i.e. be near-permanent – or as "ad-hoc" committees with a specific deadline by which to complete their work, after which they cease to exist, such as the Lords Committee on Public Service and Demographic Change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitutional Reform Act 2005</span> Constitutional reform of the UK Judiciary

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law Lords as well as some powers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and removed the functions of Speaker of the House of Lords and Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales from the office of Lord Chancellor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reform of the House of Lords</span> Proposed reforming of the upper house of the British Parliament

The reform of the House of Lords, the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, has been a topic of discussion in UK politics for more than a century. Multiple governments have attempted reform, beginning with the introduction of the Parliament Act 1911 by the incumbent Liberal Government. When the Labour Party came to power in the 1997 general election, the Blair government passed the House of Lords Act 1999. On 7 November 2001 the government undertook a public consultation. This helped to create a public debate on the issue of Lords reform, with 1,101 consultation responses and numerous debates in Parliament and the media. However, no consensus on the future of the upper chamber emerged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Assembly (Kenya)</span> Lower house of the Parliament of Kenya

The National Assembly of the Republic of Kenya is one of the two Houses of the Parliament of Kenya. Between 1966 and 2013, it served as a unicameral house. In 2013, it became the lower house when the Senate was reestablished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 (LRRA) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was enacted to replace the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 (RRA). The Act was and remains very controversial, because of a perception that it is an Enabling Act substantially removing the ancient British constitutional restriction on the Executive introducing and altering laws without assent or scrutiny by Parliament, and it has been called the "Abolition of Parliament Act".

The Education & Skills Select Committee was a committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The official name was the House of Commons, Education and Skills Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Union Committee</span>

The European Union Committee was a select committee of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Its terms of reference were "to consider European Union documents and other matters relating to the European Union", as well as "to represent the House as appropriate in interparliamentary co-operation within the European Union".

The Business and Enterprise Select Committee was a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee was to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and any associated public bodies.

The Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee was a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Committee was to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, any associated public bodies and the government office for science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Act of Parliament (United Kingdom)</span> Primary legislation in the United Kingdom

An Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is primary legislation passed by the UK Parliament in Westminster, London.

The Business and Trade Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Business and Trade, and any departmental bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regions of England</span> Highest tier of sub-national division in England

The regions of England, formerly known as the government office regions, are the highest tier of sub-national division in England. They were established in 1994 and follow the 1974–96 county borders. They are a continuation of the former 1940s standard regions which followed the 1889–1974 administrative county borders. Between 1994 and 2011, all nine regions had partly devolved functions; they no longer fulfil this role, continuing to be used for limited statistical purposes.

The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seanad Éireann</span> Upper house of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament)

Seanad Éireann is the senate of the Oireachtas, which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann.

Following the 2010 United Kingdom general election, the UK Government under the Cameron–Clegg coalition announced plans to curb public spending through the abolition of a large number of quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations (quangos). This was styled in the national press as a "bonfire of the quangos", making reference to Girolamo Savonarola's religiously inspired Bonfire of the Vanities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federalism in the United Kingdom</span> Proposed constitutional reform of a division of powers

Federalism in the United Kingdom aims at constitutional reform to achieve a federal UK or a British federation, where there is a division of legislative powers between two or more levels of government, so that sovereignty is decentralised between a federal government and autonomous governments in a federal system.

References

  1. "Select Committee chair election results" . Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 25 July 2007 (pt 0018)". publications.parliament.uk.
  3. "Political and Constitutional Reform Committee". UK Parliament.
  4. "Public Administration Select Committee (PASC)". UK Parliament.
  5. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 03 Mar 2009 (pt 0013)". publications.parliament.uk.
  6. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 27 May 2010 (pt 0001)". publications.parliament.uk.