Tag: select committees

Westminster: Election of select committee Chairs

The Speaker of the House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, has set out the timetable for the election of chairs of select committees following the General Election on 4 July 2024.

Since 2010, most committee chairs have been elected by the whole House by secret ballot using the alternative vote system, under which MPs rank candidates in order of preference. 

The period of nominations will run until 4pm on Monday 9 September, with the ballot scheduled for Wednesday 11 September.

How do Chair elections work?

The Speaker’s announcement follows the allocation of particular committee chairs to political parties, agreed by the House on 30 July. The number of chairs allotted to each party relates to their strength in the House of Commons. The chairs of the Committee of Public Accounts and the Committee on Standards are required to be from the Official Opposition.

The rules for the election of chairs of select committees are set out in Standing Order No. 122B. The Chair of the Backbench Business Committee will also be elected at this time although this takes place under a different Standing Order, No. 122D.  The chair of the Backbench Business Committee must be elected from a party which is not represented in the Government.

Which committees are electing a Chair?

Select committees appointed under Standing Order No. 152 (Select committees related to government departments) and their allocation: 

  • Business and Trade (Labour)
  • Culture, Media and Sport (Conservative)
  • Defence (Labour)
  • Education (Labour)
  • Energy Security and Net Zero (Labour)
  • Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Liberal Democrat)
  • Foreign Affairs (Labour)
  • Health and Social Care (Liberal Democrat)
  • Home Affairs (Conservative)
  • Housing, Communities and Local Government (Labour)
  • International Development (Labour)
  • Justice (Labour)
  • Northern Ireland Affairs (Labour)
  • Science, Innovation and Technology (Labour)
  • Scottish Affairs (Labour)
  • Transport (Labour)
  • Treasury (Labour)
  • Welsh Affairs (Labour)
  • Women and Equalities (Labour)
  • Work and Pensions (Labour)

Other specified select committees:

  • Environmental Audit (Labour)
  • Petitions (Liberal Democrat)
  • Procedure (Labour)
  • Public Accounts (Conservative)
  • Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs (Conservative)
  • Standards (Conservative)

Further information  

Committees unite to scrutinise UK Government coranvirus response

Westminster’s Health and Social Care Committee and Science and Technology Committee  have today launched a joint inquiry into lessons to be learned from the response to the coronavirus pandemic so far.

Scope of the inquiry

The two Select Committees will jointly conduct evidence sessions examining the impact and effectiveness of action taken by government and the advice it has received. Each Committee will draw on specialist expertise and call witnesses to consider a range of issues including:

  • the deployment of non-pharmaceutical interventions like lockdown and social distancing rules to manage the pandemic;
  • the impact on the social care sector;
  • the impact on BAME communities;
  • testing and contact tracing;
  • modelling and the use of statistics;
  • Government communications and public health messaging;
  • the UK’s prior preparedness for a pandemic; and
  • the development of treatments and vaccines.

Joint Inquiry Chairs Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP and Rt Hon Greg Clark MP issued the following statement:

“Parliament has a crucial role in scrutinising the actions of government at a time when the country is in the grip of a crisis such as the current pandemic with its tragic impact on lives and livelihoods.

“Important lessons need to be learned that can help inform further decisions that will need to be taken in the months ahead. It is crucial to learn and apply them now since the Public Inquiry that the Prime Minister has promised is likely to be some time away.

“Our committees will jointly learn what went well, what didn’t, and what lessons must be learnt at this point in the pandemic.

“We will use the independence of our cross-party committees and weekly detailed questioning of witnesses to consider the decisions taken and the evidence they were based on and assess their effectiveness. We will develop clear recommendations so that the UK can benefit from the lessons learned for future stages of this pandemic and for future crises.”