Select committee (United Kingdom)

In British politics, parliamentary select committees are cross-party groups of MPs or Lords which investigate specific issues or scrutinise the work of the Government of the United Kingdom.^[1]

They can be appointed from the House of Commons, from the House of Lords, or as a joint committee of Parliament drawn from both. Committees may be 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.

House of Commons select committees are generally responsible for overseeing the work of government departments and agencies, whereas Lords select committees look at general issues, such as the constitution or the economy. Select committees are also one of parliament's mechanisms for holding the private sector to account.^[2]

Following the 2024 United Kingdom general election, most of the new chairs of the 26 select committees were elected in September 2024.^[3]

Some English local authorities also have a select committee system, as part of their Overview and Scrutiny arrangements.

Committees often open investigations, called inquiries, into topics within their remit. As part of these inquiries they gather information from government officials and interested people, groups, and organisations. At the end of inquiries they often publish a report with their findings. The government must issue a written response to each select committee report.^[4]

Select committees in the House of Commons are governed by the Standing Orders.^[5] The powers of departmental select committees are set out in standing order 152.^[6]

Political parties divide committee chair positions based on their number of seats in the House of Commons. Party managers negotiate which party chairs each committee. By tradition, the Public Accounts Committee is led by a member of the opposition party, while a member of the governing party leads the Treasury Select Committee. Committee membership reflects each party’s size in the House, and members are elected within their parties.^[7]

Typically, a departmental committee has 11 members, though some, like Public Accounts, are larger.

The Osmotherly Rules set out guidance on how civil servants should respond to parliamentary select committees.^[8]

Following general elections, chairs and members of select committees have to be reappointed.^[9]

Committees don't have the legal power to compel people to appear before them. Rupert Murdoch and Mike Ashley are two examples of witnesses who initially declined before agreeing to appear. Mark Zuckerberg, for example, declined to appear in front of a committee at all.^[10]

Specialised committees of investigation existed within Parliament since the Tudor period. In the sixteenth century, committees revised bills and considered constitutional and religious questions.^[14]

The committees system was further developed during the mid-1960s by Richard Crossman as Leader of the House of Commons.

The modern system of departmental select committees in the UK came into being in 1979, following the recommendations of a 1978 Procedure Select Committee report.^[15] It recommended the appointment of a series of select committees covering all the main departments of state, with wide terms of reference, and with power to appoint specialist advisers as the committees deemed appropriate. It also suggested that committee members should be selected independently of the party whips, as chosen by the Select Committee of Selection. The fourteen new committees began working in 1980 after the 1979 general election.^[16]

Since then, Parliament has organised House of Commons committees into three main types:

• Departmental committees: Each committee scrutinises a specific government department. For example, the Education Select Committee watches over the Department for Education.
• Cross-cutting committees: These committees focus on broader topics that don’t belong to any single department. For example, the Science and Technology Select Committee, and Women and Equalities Select Committee.
• Domestic committees: These committees manage issues within Parliament itself, like procedures and standards.

In July 2005, the Administration Select Committee was created to replace five previous committees. It covers services in the House, including catering, the House of Commons Library, digital services, and visitor services.^[17]

Sometimes, committees from the House of Commons or joint standing committees (which include members of both Houses) review individual bills in detail. Most bills go to public bill committees. Before 2006, these were called standing committees.^[7]

In 2009, the Wright Committee was formed to improve the procedures and relevance of Parliament. Changes made based on the committee's recommendations included limiting the number of members per committee to 11, requiring those members and chairs to be appointed to their positions by the House, and a reduction in the number of committees.

The Backbench Business Committee was created in 2010 as a non-ministerial committee to cover non-government business, following recommendations from the Reform the House of Commons report under the Wright Committee.^[18][19]

Since June 2010, most committee chairs are elected by the whole House. Before this, each party appointed members and chose chairs within the group.^[20][21]

Select committees recommendations often focus on changes to government policy. One study estimates that 30-40% of select committee recommendations become policy.^[22][23]

A select committee evidence session is featured in season 3, episode 5 of Industry (TV series). In the episode, Robert is sent to represent Pierpoint as part of the committee's inquiry into the collapse and bailout of Lumi, a green energy tech company.

A 2015 select committee inquiry into the Horizon computer system features in Mr Bates vs The Post Office.^[24]

• Parliamentary committees of the United Kingdom