Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee
The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee, formerly the Public Administration Select Committee, is a select committee appointed by the British House of Commons to examine the reports of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, and to consider matters relating to the quality and standards of administration provided by civil service departments, and other matters relating to the civil service, mostly for England and Wales, and constitutional affairs.
It is the principal select committee to which Cabinet Office ministers are accountable and thus handles pre appointment and accountability hearings for independent officers, with an independent civil society or cross departmental role, such as the First Civil Service Commissioner, the chair of the UK Statistics Authority and the chair of the Charity Commission.
The committee chooses its own subjects of inquiry, within its overall terms of reference; however, it seeks evidence from a wide variety of individuals and groups with relevant interests and experience. The members of the committee are drawn from the three largest political parties, and the committee itself mainly publishes its results through reports and making its recommendations known to the government.[1]
Membership
As of May 2022, the Committee's Chair is William Wragg,[2] after being elected in January 2020,[3] defeating fellow Conservative MP David Jones by 335 to 183 votes.[4] The members of the select committee are:[2]
| Member | Party | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Wragg MP (Chair) | Conservative | Hazel Grove | |
| Jackie Doyle-Price MP | Conservative | Thurrock | |
| Chris Evans MP | Labour | Islwyn | |
| David Mundell MP | Conservative | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | |
| Rachel Hopkins MP | Labour | Luton South | |
| Karin Smyth MP | Labour | Bristol South | |
| David Jones MP | Conservative | Clwyd West | |
| Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP | Labour | Brighton, Kemptown | |
| Tom Randall MP | Conservative | Gedling | |
| John Stevenson MP | Conservative | Carlisle | |
Changes
Occasionally, the House of Commons orders changes to be made in terms of membership of select committees, as proposed by the Committee of Selection. Such changes are shown below.
Reports
Reports published in 2021 include The role and status of the Prime Minister’s Office, published in June 2021.[5]
A major report published in July 2011 addressed procurement of Information Technology by the government and found there was an over-reliance "on a small 'oligopoly' of large suppliers".[6]
References
- "Public Administration Select Committee - role". parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- UK Parliament, Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, accessed 30 July 2021
- https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/327/public-administration-and-constitutional-affairs-committee/news/144795/william-wragg-elected-chair-of-public-administration-and-constitutional-affairs-committee/
- https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/Results-spreadsheet-SC-Chairs-2020-a.pdf
- UK Parliament, The role and status of the Prime Minister’s Office, published 9 June 2021, accessed 30 July 2021
- House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, Government and IT - "a recipe for rip-offs": time for a new approach, Volume 1, published 28 July 2011, accessed 30 July 2021
External links
- Public Administration Select Committee page on UK Parliament website
- Records for this Committee are held at the Parliamentary Archives