Since the 1960s select committees have taken an increasingly powerful role, dealing with more bills. From the 1970s they became more open to the public and the media, and from 1979 they handled nearly all legislation. The present system, with permanent committees for designated subject matters, was implemented in 1985, in order to promote accountability and a greater separation of Parliament from government. If a bill passes its
first reading, it is referred to a select committee for scrutiny. Which committee receives the bill is determined by the member responsible for the bill, subject to the agreement of the House, and the referral motion is not a debatable motion in the House. By default, committees have six months to consider legislation although this can be varied on a case-by-case basis. Committees can call for submissions from the public, thereby meaning that there is a degree of public consultation before a parliamentary bill proceeds into law. They may recommend amendments to a bill and they may recommend bills are divided into two or more bills. Committees may ask other committees for their opinion on legislation. Committees' recommendations on bills are reported back to the House and voted on at the bill's second reading. The version of the bill approved by the select committee is then scrutinised by the committee of the whole House. Select committees are sometimes referred to as the "engine room" of Parliament. Most (but not all) committees are chaired by MPs from government parties and have government majorities. There have been calls from the likes of former Green MP
Sue Kedgley in 2012 and ACT New Zealand leader
David Seymour in 2021 for increased independence of select committees by providing greater opportunities for opposition chairs and opposition majorities on committees. The 2023 Standing Orders introduced two scrutiny weeks a year, which allow select committees to scrutinise government and public sector spending plans. The first scrutiny week was held from 17 to 21 June 2024.
Types of select committees There are two main types of select committees: •
Subject committees – established to oversee government actions and policy in a specified subject area, as well as examining bills in detail. Subject committees are empowered to hold the Government to account, with ministers presenting evidence and answering questions as necessary. The committees may recommend amendments to a bill when they report back to the House and such recommendations are voted on at the second reading. There are currently twelve such committees. •
Specialist committees – established to oversee the procedures of the House itself. There are currently eight such committees. The House may also create additional select committees to conduct investigations into specific matters. Membership of committees is determined by the Business Committee at the beginning of each parliament. Attempts are made to allocate MPs into committees for subject areas those MPs have experience in. Each committee has its own chairperson and deputy chairperson who are elected by the committee. MPs may be members of more than one select committee.
Cabinet ministers do not sit on committees generally, though there are some exceptions (usually for specialist committees). Some ministers outside Cabinet are required to sit on subject committees to ensure that the governing parties can fill all their allocated places. Membership of the Business Committee itself is determined by the
Speaker (who chairs) and political party leaders. ==List of committees in the 54th Parliament==