How effective are select committees?

In the UK, each government department is shadowed by a select committee that scrutinises the work being done by that department. For example, the education select committee will scrutinise the work being done by the department for education, interviewing ministers and civil servants within the department. This gives the committee the opportunity to hold the minister to account for the actions of the department. Most famously, in 2018 the Home Affairs Select Committee requested the then Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, to answer questions regarding the Windrush Scandal which was beginning to emerge. Under heavy questioning from the chair of the committee, Yvette Cooper, Rudd was unable to answer the questions and invertedly misled the committee. As a result Rudd was forced to resign as Home Secretary.

Select Committees will also carry out their own investigations relating to questions within their field. For example, in 2022 the Education Select Committee released a report into the educational under achievement of white working-class pupils. The report outlines some of what the committees perceived to be the causes of the problem and then makes recommendations to the government to address them. The government is then expected to respond within 60 days to the report and explain whether they will implement the recommendations.

Around 40% of all the recommendations made by Select Committees are accepted by the government. Nonetheless, this means that 60% are not. Furthermore, most of the recommendations that are accepted by the government are on a small scale, they are rarely big policy changes.

The Select Committees are strengthened by the fact that they are experts in their field. Whereas, a government department might see the secretary of state change regularly, members of a committee often stay in place for a considerable amount of time and become experts in that field. The Select Committees are also highly effective because they tend to work outside of party politics. The chairs are now selected by a secret vote of MPs, rather then being selected by whips as used to be the case. The chairs must appeal to members of all parties and as such it tends to be those who can gain the respect of all MPs, namely those who are hardworking, less party political and fair minded, who are elected. A good example is Tobia Ellwood, a Conservative MP and the chair of the Defence Select Committee. Ellwood is a former soldier and knowledgeable of Defence issues. He is also seen as being a more moderate member of the Conservative Party and therefore members of opposition parties saw him as somebody who would not be afraid to ask tough questions of Conservative ministers.

The independence of the committee members and chairs helps to strengthen their ability to scrutinise the government and hold it to account for its actions.

If answering questions on the effectiveness of the House of Commons, it should be said that the committees are perhaps one of the most effective elements that exists owing to their cross party nature, their expertise in a field and their independence from the parties.