Parliament Website

Departmental Select Committees

EDM number 322 in 2008-09, proposed by Frank Cook on 16/12/2008.
Categorised under the topic of Parliamentary procedure.

That this House notes that in 1979 Norman St. John-Stevas moved the motion to establish departmental select committees to embark `upon a series of changes that could constitute the most important reforms of the century'; further notes that he cited `public and professional anxiety' at Parliament's failure `to subject the Executive to limitation and control; to protect the liberties of the individual citizen; to defend him against the arbitrary use of power'; further notes that these committees were to examine the whole range of activity for which Ministers have direct responsibility and look at the activities of some public bodies that exercise authority over which Ministers do not have direct authority; further notes that they were to be a necessary preliminary to the more effective scrutiny of government and the wider involvement that hon. Members on both sides of the House had sought for many years, to provide closer examination of departmental policy and action and to contribute to greater openness in government; further notes that hon. Members have subsequently exercised their select committee duties diligently and in doing so have enhanced their learning, becoming more effective participants in the procedures of parliamentary democracy; further notes that deliberate exclusion of any hon. Member from the prospect of appointment to these committees undermines the committee system's purpose, is an obstruction of the proper democratic process and represents a betrayal of universal franchise; and believes that this danger should be drawn to the attention of all hon. Members and specifically to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury, whoever be the incumbent.

This motion has been signed by a total of 20 MPs.

MPDateConstituencyPartyType
Frank Cook16/12/2008Stockton NorthLabourProposed
Dai Davies16/12/2008Blaenau GwentIndependentSeconded
Robert Wareing16/12/2008Liverpool, West DerbyIndependentSeconded
John McDonnell16/12/2008Hayes and HarlingtonLabourSeconded
Martin Caton17/12/2008GowerLabourSeconded
Peter Bottomley17/12/2008Worthing WestConservativeSeconded
Jeremy Corbyn17/12/2008Islington NorthLabourSigned
John Hemming17/12/2008Birmingham, YardleyLiberal DemocratSigned
David Taylor17/12/2008North West LeicestershireLabourSigned
Mike Hancock17/12/2008Portsmouth SouthLiberal DemocratSigned
Mark Durkan17/12/2008FoyleSocial Democratic and Labour PartySigned
David Drew17/12/2008StroudLabourSigned
Andrew Dismore17/12/2008HendonLabourSigned
Brian Iddon17/12/2008Bolton South EastLabourSigned
Paul Holmes17/12/2008ChesterfieldLiberal DemocratSigned
Bob Spink17/12/2008Castle PointIndependentSigned
Alan Simpson17/12/2008Nottingham SouthLabourSigned
Evan Harris18/12/2008Oxford West and AbingdonLiberal DemocratSigned
Ann Cryer12/01/2009KeighleyLabourSigned
Bill Etherington14/01/2009Sunderland NorthLabourSigned

Download raw data as csv or xml.