Select Committees Of The Parliament Of The United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, Departmental Select Committees came into being in 1979, following the recommendations of a Procedure Select Committee, set up in 1976, which reported in 1978. 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 special 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 14 new committees began working effectively in 1980.
Committees can be appointed, as most are, 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" drawn from both, such as the Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform. (Note that the Intelligence and Security Committee is not a select committee, though it contains members from both houses. It is a unique committee of parliamentarians appointed by the Prime Minister and reporting to him or her, not Parliament.) The Commons Select Committees are generally responsible for overseeing the work of government departments and agencies, whereas those of the Lords look at general issues, such as the constitution or the economy. Both Houses have their own committees to review drafts of European Union directives.
The chairmen of (the majority of) select committees have been appointed only as recently as June 2010.
Read more about Select Committees Of The Parliament Of The United Kingdom: Select Committees of The Commons
Famous quotes containing the words select committees, select, committees, parliament, united and/or kingdom:
“Cry cry what shall I cry?
The first thing to do is to form the committees:
The consultative councils, the standing committees, select committees and sub-committees.
One secretary will do for several committees.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“We must select the Illusion which appeals to our temperament and embrace it with passion, if we want to be happy.”
—Cyril Connolly (1903–1974)
“When committees gather, each member is necessarily an actor, uncontrollably acting out the part of himself, reading the lines that identify him, asserting his identity.... We are designed, coded, it seems, to place the highest priority on being individuals, and we must do this first, at whatever cost, even if it means disability for the group.”
—Lewis Thomas (b. 1913)
“Undershaft: Alcohol is a very necessary article. It heals the sick—Barbara: It does nothing of the sort. Undershaft: Well, it assists the doctor: that is perhaps a less questionable way of putting it. It makes life bearable to millions of people who could not endure their existence if they were quite sober. It enables Parliament to do things at eleven at night that no sane person would do at eleven in the morning.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“What makes the United States government, on the whole, more tolerable—I mean for us lucky white men—is the fact that there is so much less of government with us.... But in Canada you are reminded of the government every day. It parades itself before you. It is not content to be the servant, but will be the master; and every day it goes out to the Plains of Abraham or to the Champs de Mars and exhibits itself and toots.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It is easier to govern a kingdom than to rule a family.”
—Chinese proverb.