legislative and general committees
legislative and general committees
Formerly, House of Commons procedure distinguished clearly between ‘select’ and ‘standing’ committees. Standing committees debated and select committees investigated. The creation of Public Bill Committees in 2006 eroded this distinction (responding to dissatisfaction with purely adversarial scrutiny of legislation) and the generic term ‘general committee’ replaced ‘standing committee’.
General committees still proceed mostly by debate rather than inquiry; and they are principally involved in examination of legislation. Membership (appointed by the Committee of Selection) is divided between the parties in proportion to strengths in the House. There are four main groups.
Public Bill Committees undertake the committee stage of a particular public Bill, ceasing to exist thereafter. They generally have between eighteen and thirty members. Government public Bills are, currently, almost invariably subject to a programme motion, which specifies a date by which the committee must report. Within this limit the committee decides the number and timing of its sittings and the parts of the bill considered at each. A Public Bill Committee has power to take evidence (like a select committee), and will determine at how many, if any, sittings evidence will be taken. At other sittings, it considers each clause of and schedule to the Bill. Amendments may be proposed, debated, withdrawn, negatived, or made, and it must decide if each separate clause or schedule is to be included in the Bill. New clauses and schedules may be added. Proceedings are overseen by the chairman, who has the power of ‘selection’, enabling them to decide which proposed amendments will be considered and voted on. The majority of amendments made will be proposed by the government.
Delegated Legislation Committees (with around sixteen members—any MP may participate) consider draft or already‐made statutory instruments and other items of delegated legislation requiring approval, or in respect of which a motion to annul has been tabled. Their debates are generally limited to ninety minutes per instrument. No amendment of the text can be proposed. Debate takes place on a take‐note motion: when the instrument has been reported a vote may be taken on it on the floor of the House without further debate.
European Standing Committees (with thirteen members) debate legislative proposals and other matters emanating from institutions of the European Union. Matters are referred to them by the European Scrutiny Committee (a select committee), and debated on the basis of a substantive and amendable motion. Debates last up to two‐and‐a‐half hours, which may include up to ninety minutes questioning of a Minister. Once reported, the matter is voted on the floor of the House without debate and is deemed to have cleared the ‘scrutiny reserve’, freeing Ministers to vote upon it in the legislative bodies of the EU.
Grand Committees (in the Commons) comprise all MPs from constituencies in, respectively, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. They debate matters relating to those countries referred to them by the House.
The Lords does not use debate committees. Public Bills may be considered in a grand committee, to which all Members of the House automatically belong.
W McKay (ed), Erskine May's Treatise on The Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament (London: Lexis Nexis Butterworth, 23rd edn, 2004)Find this resource:
See also: legislative processes
