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The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee, previously known as the Public Administration Select Committee, is a committee designated by the British House of Commons. Its purpose is to scrutinize reports from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, address issues pertaining to the quality of administration delivered by civil service departments, and explore various matters concerning the civil service, primarily in England and Wales, as well as 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 elected by their peers from any political party, and the committee itself mainly publishes its results through reports and making its recommendations known to the government.[1]
Membership of the committee is as follows:[2]
| Date | Outgoing Member & Party |
Constituency | → | New Member & Party |
Constituency | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 January 2025 | John Grady MP (Labour) | Glasgow East | → | Sam Carling MP (Labour) | North West Cambridgeshire | Hansard | ||
The chair was elected on 29 January 2020, with the members of the committee being announced on 2 March 2020.[3][4]
| Member | Party | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Wragg MP (chair) | Conservative[a] | Hazel Grove | |
| Ronnie Cowan MP | SNP | Inverclyde | |
| Jackie Doyle-Price MP (chair) | Conservative | Thurrock | |
| Chris Evans MP | Labour and Co-op | Islwyn | |
| Rachel Hopkins MP | Labour | Luton South | |
| David Jones MP | Conservative | Clwyd West | |
| David Mundell MP | Conservative | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | |
| Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP | Labour | Brighton Kemptown | |
| Tom Randall MP | Conservative | Gedling | |
| Karin Smyth MP | Labour | Bristol South | |
| John Stevenson MP | Conservative | Carlisle | |
| Date | Outgoing Member and Party |
Constituency | → | New Member and Party |
Constituency | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 September 2020 | Chris Evans MP (Labour and Co-op) | Islwyn | → | Navendu Mishra MP (Labour) | Stockport | Hansard | ||
| 22 February 2021 | Navendu Mishra MP (Labour) | Stockport | → | John McDonnell MP (Labour) | Hayes and Harlington | Hansard | ||
| 17 May 2022 | Rachel Hopkins MP (Labour) | Luton South | → | Beth Winter MP (Labour) | Cynon Valley | Hansard | ||
| 21 November 2022 | David Mundell MP (Conservative) | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | → | Damien Moore MP (Conservative) | Southport | Hansard | ||
| 6 December 2022 | Jackie Doyle-Price MP (Conservative) | Thurrock | → | Jo Gideon MP (Conservative) | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Hansard | ||
| 15 April 2024 | William Wragg MP (Chair, Independent) | Hazel Grove | → | Vacant | Hansard | |||
| 8 May 2024 | Vacant | → | Jackie Doyle-Price MP (Chair, Conservative) | Thurrock | Hansard | |||
The election of the chair took place on 12 July 2017, with the members of the committee being announced on 11 September 2017.[5][6]
| Member | Party | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernard Jenkin MP (Chair) | Conservative | Harwich and North Essex | |
| Ronnie Cowan MP | SNP | Inverclyde | |
| Paul Flynn MP | Labour | Newport West | |
| Marcus Fysh MP | Conservative | Yeovil | |
| Cheryl Gillan MP | Conservative | Chesham and Amersham | |
| Kelvin Hopkins MP | Labour | Luton North | |
| Rupa Huq MP | Labour | Ealing Central and Acton | |
| David Jones MP | Conservative | Clwyd West | |
| Sandy Martin MP | Labour | Ipswich | |
| David Morris MP | Conservative | Morecambe and Lunesdale | |
| Date | Outgoing Member and Party |
Constituency | → | New Member and Party |
Constituency | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 January 2018 | New seat | → | Sarah Champion MP (Labour) | Rotherham | Hansard | |||
| 4 June 2018 | Sarah Champion MP (Labour) | Rotherham | → | Tulip Siddiq MP (Labour) | Hampstead and Kilburn | Hansard | ||
| 17 February 2019 | Paul Flynn MP (Labour) | Newport West | → | Vacant | Death of member[7] | |||
| 25 February 2019 | Sandy Martin MP (Labour) | Ipswich | → | Eleanor Smith MP (Labour) | Wolverhampton South West | Hansard | ||
The election of the chair took place on 18 June 2015, with the members of the committee being announced on 6 July 2015.[8][9]
| Member | Party | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernard Jenkin MP (Chair) | Conservative | Harwich and North Essex | |
| Ronnie Cowan MP | SNP | Inverclyde | |
| Oliver Dowden MP | Conservative | Hertsmere | |
| Paul Flynn MP | Labour | Newport West | |
| Cheryl Gillan MP | Conservative | Chesham and Amersham | |
| Kate Hoey MP | Labour | Vauxhall | |
| Kelvin Hopkins MP | Labour | Luton North | |
| David Jones MP | Conservative | Clwyd West | |
| Gerald Jones MP | Labour | Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney | |
| Tom Tugendhat MP | Conservative | Tonbridge and Malling | |
| Andrew Turner MP | Conservative | Isle of Wight | |
| Date | Outgoing Member and Party |
Constituency | → | New Member and Party |
Constituency | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 October 2016 | Oliver Dowden MP (Conservative) | Hertsmere | → | Marcus Fysh MP (Conservative) | Yeovil | Hansard | ||
| David Jones MP (Conservative) | Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney | Adam Holloway MP (Conservative) | Gravesham | |||||
| Tom Tugendhat MP (Conservative) | Tonbridge and Malling | Dan Poulter MP (Conservative) | Central Suffolk and North Ipswich | |||||
| 19 December 2016 | Adam Holloway MP (Conservative) | Gravesham | → | John Stevenson MP (Conservative) | Carlisle | Hansard | ||
The election of the chair took place on 10 June 2010, with the members of the committee being announced on 12 July 2010.[10][11]
| Member | Party | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernard Jenkin MP (Chair) | Conservative | Harwich and North Essex | |
| Kevin Brennan MP | Labour | Cardiff West | |
| Nick de Bois MP | Conservative | Enfield North | |
| Michael Dugher MP | Labour | Barnsley East | |
| Charlie Elphicke MP | Conservative | Dover | |
| Paul Flynn MP | Labour | Newport West | |
| Robert Halfon MP | Conservative | Harlow | |
| Greg Mulholland MP | Liberal | Leeds North West | |
| Charles Walker MP | Conservative | Broxbourne | |
A March 2004 report considered the prerogative powers of Ministers.[12]
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", which some witnesses before the Committee had described as a 'cartel'.[13] An independent comment given prominence in the report described the UK as "a world leader in ineffective IT schemes for government".[14] The Office of Fair Trading investigated but did not find sufficient evidence either to confirm that suppliers had been acting in breach of competition law, or to exonerate them.[15] The government welcomed "the Committee's interest in and support for government Information and Communication Technology" and in response noted in particular that the government was "in the process of breaking the contractual lock-in which places the majority of ICT business with a small group of major systems integrators", and "working to improve the quality of its ICT management information".[16]
Reports published in 2021 include The role and status of the Prime Minister’s Office, published in June 2021.[17]
In 2022 the committee reported on government ethics. Committee chair William Wragg stated a "robust" system was needed to uphold standards "with proper sanctions for those who break the rules". The committee was also concerned the government maintained its coming ethics adviser would not look into what happened round Suella Braverman's resignation. MP's on the committee stated the government should not be able to decide what the adviser, not yet appointed, could investigate. In its report, the committee also stated there should be legal action against former ministers who broke rules through taking certain jobs after leaving officed. Former ministers should look for advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments but ministers cannot be made to accept this committee's advice.[18] The record of the current government was strongly criticised. The committee want the ethics adviser to be able to carry out inquiries into historical behaviour.[19]
