Parliamentary committees of the United Kingdom

This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2020)

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.

House of Commons[edit]

Select committees[edit]

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 are designed to oversee and examine the work of individual government departments and any related departmental bodies and agencies.
• Topical select committees examine topical issues of importance.
• Internal select committees have responsibility with respect to the day-to-day running of Parliament.^[1]

Departmental select committees

Committee	Chair			Responsibility
	Name		Since
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee		Darren Jones	2020	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and related bodies
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee		Julian Knight	2020	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Defence Select Committee		Tobias Ellwood	2020	Ministry of Defence
Education Select Committee		Robin Walker	2022	Department for Education and related bodies
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee		Robert Goodwill	2022	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and associated bodies
Foreign Affairs Select Committee		Alicia Kearns	2022	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and associated bodies
Health and Social Care Select Committee		Steve Brine	2022	Department of Health and Social Care and related bodies
Home Affairs Select Committee		Diana Johnson	2021	Home Office and related bodies
International Development Select Committee		Sarah Champion	2020	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and associated bodies
International Trade Select Committee		Angus MacNeil	2016	Department for International Trade and related bodies
Justice Select Committee		Bob Neill	2015	Ministry of Justice, related agencies including the Crown Prosecution Service, and other agencies that report to the Lord Chancellor
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee		Clive Betts	2010	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Northern Ireland Affairs Committee		Simon Hoare	2019	The work of the devolved government and the Northern Ireland Office
Science and Technology Select Committee		Greg Clark	2020	Government Office for Science, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and related bodies
Scottish Affairs Committee		Pete Wishart	2015	The work of the devolved government and the Scotland Office
Transport Select Committee		Iain Stewart	2022	Department for Transport
Treasury Select Committee		Harriett Baldwin	2022	Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs
Welsh Affairs Select Committee		Stephen Crabb	2020	The Wales Office and UK Government policies which impact Wales
Work and Pensions Select Committee		Stephen Timms	2020	Department for Work and Pensions

General Committees[edit]

Others[edit]

House of Lords[edit]

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.

Sessional[edit]

Special Inquiry (2019–21 Session)[edit]

• Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 Select Committee
• Food, Poverty, Health & the Environment Select Committee
• Social and Economic Impact of Gambling Select Committee
• Democracy & Digital Technologies Select Committee

Legislative[edit]

Internal[edit]

Domestic[edit]

Joint house committees[edit]

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

Former committees[edit]

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[edit]

Departmental[edit]

• Agriculture Select Committee – dissolved in 2001, and replaced by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee following the replacement of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Business and Enterprise Select Committee – dissolved 30 September 2009, and replaced by the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee following the replacement of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• Constitutional Affairs Select Committee – dissolved 25 July 2007, and replaced by the Justice Select Committee following the replacement of the Department for Constitutional Affairs with the Ministry of Justice.^[2]
• Education and Employment Select Committee – split in 2001 into the Education and Skills Select Committee and the Work and Pensions Select Committee following the splitting of the Department for Education and Employment into two distinct departments.
• Education and Skills Select Committee – dissolved 25 July 2007, and replaced with the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee and the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee following the replacement of the Department of Education and Skills with the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.^[2]
• Energy and Climate Change Select Committee – abolished after the Department for Energy and Climate Change was merged into the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in July 2016.
• Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Select Committee – abolished in 2001, with the environment portion of the committee’s remit being transferred to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee and the remainder being transferred to the new Transport, Local Government and the Regions Select Committee following changes to several government departments following the 2001 general election.
• Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee – dissolved 30 September 2009 following the abolition of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. Technically replaced by the Science and Technology Select Committee.
• Lord Chancellor’s Department Committee – abolished in 2003 following the merging of the Lord Chancellor’s Department into the Department for Constitutional Affairs
• Committee on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister – abolished in 2006 and replaced with the Communities and Local Government Select Committee following the abolition of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which was replaced by the Department for Communities and Local Government
• Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee – created in 2010 to scrutinise the work of Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, who had responsibility for political and constitutional reform in the coalition government. On 3 June 2015 it was merged with the Public Administration Select Committee to form the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee.^[3]
• Public Administration Select Committee – merged with the Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee on 3 June 2015 to form the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee.^[4]
• Science and Technology Committee – abolished in 2007 following the creation of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee
• Social Security Select Committee – abolished in 2001 and replaced with the Work and Pensions Select Committee following the replacement of the Department of Social Security with the Department for Work and Pensions
• Trade and Industry Select Committee – dissolved 25 July 2007, and replaced with the Business and Enterprise Select Committee following the replacement of the Department of Trade and Industry with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.^[2]
• Transport, Local Government and the Regions Select Committee – abolished after less than one year and replaced by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Select Committee and the Transport Select Committee

Domestic[edit]

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

Internal[edit]

Legislative[edit]

Regional[edit]

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[edit]

Topical[edit]

Internal[edit]

Domestic[edit]

Joint[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]