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{{Short description|Select committee of the UK House of Lords}}
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The '''Constitution Committee''' is a cross-party [[Select committee (United Kingdom)|select committee]] of the [[House of Lords]], the upper chamber of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]. The committee's remit is "to examine the constitutional implications of all public bills coming before the House; and to keep under review the operation of the constitution".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200102/ldselect/ldconst/11/1102.htm |title=Reviewing the Constitution: Terms of Reference and Method of Working − Chapter 1: Introduction |author=House of Lords Constitution Committee |date=11 July 2001}}</ref> There is [[Constitution of the United Kingdom|no consolidated written constitution in the United Kingdom]], but the committee has defined the constitution as "the set of laws, rules and practices that create the basic institutions of the state, and its component and related parts, and stipulate the powers of those institutions and the relationship between the different institutions and between those institutions and the individual".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200102/ldselect/ldconst/11/1103.htm |title=Reviewing the Constitution: Terms of Reference and Method of Working − Chapter 2: What is the Constitution? |author=House of Lords Constitution Committee |date=11 July 2001}}</ref>

The committee has two main functions: examining public bills for matters of constitutional significance; and investigating wider constitutional issues.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/constitution-committee/role/ |title=Constitution Committee − role |website=UK Parliament}}</ref>

== Scrutiny ==
The function of the committee is not to resist constitutional change, but to ensure that when such change takes places through legislation, this occurs as the result of a conscious decision of Parliament, reached where possible after informed debate.

When the committee looks at a bill, it asks if the bill raises issues of principle affecting a principal part of the constitution. If the committee thinks it does, it may request information from the minister responsible for the bill or seek advice more widely. The committee can simply publish the correspondence with the minister, or publish a report on the bill where this is thought to be necessary or desirable. These reports inform the deliberations of the House of Lords on the bill in question.

Recent{{when|date=December 2017}} scrutiny reports have looked at the following bills:
*[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldselect/ldconst/51/51.pdf Public Bodies Bill] (which became the [[Public Bodies Act 2011]])
*[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201012/ldselect/ldconst/178/178.pdf Police (Detention and Bail) Bill] (which became the [[Police (Detention and Bail) Act 2011]])

The committee also used to carry out pre-legislative scrutiny of Welsh [[Legislative Competence Order]]s. This function ceased following the [[2011 Welsh devolution referendum|referendum in Wales in March 2011]] by which the Assembly was given power to legislate directly. Examples of scrutiny reports on Welsh [[Legislative Competence Order]]s include:
*[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldselect/ldconst/105/105.pdf The National Assembly for Wales (Legislative Competence) (Social Welfare) Order 2009 (relating to Carers) 13th Report of Session 2008–09]
*[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200708/ldselect/ldconst/17/17.pdf Scrutiny of Welsh Legislative Competence Orders (December 2007)]

== Inquiries ==
The committee fulfils the second limb of its remit by carrying out longer investigative inquiries into wider constitutional issues. Once the committee has chosen a subject, it engages a specialist adviser (an external expert in the field) and written submissions are invited. The committee then takes oral evidence from a range of witnesses, including government ministers, and can also undertake visits.

The committee then publishes a report based on the evidence received, which makes recommendations aimed principally at the Government. The Government is obliged to produce a formal written response to the committee's recommendations. The report and the Government response are then usually debated in the House of Lords.

Recent inquiries have looked into:
*[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201012/ldselect/ldconst/177/177.pdf The Process of Constitutional Change (July 2011)]
*[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldselect/ldconst/107/107.pdf The Cabinet Manual (March 2011)]
*[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldselect/ldconst/97/97.pdf Money Bills and Commons Financial Privileges (February 2011)]

== Membership ==
As of January 2025, the membership of the committee is as follows:<ref>{{cite web |title=Constitution Committee − membership |url=https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/172/constitution-committee/membership/ |website=UK Parliament}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
! Member
! colspan=2 | Party
|-
| [[Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde|Lord Strathclyde]]{{0}}{{resize|(Chair)}}
| {{party color cell|Conservative Party (UK)}}
| Conservative
|-
| [[David Anderson, Baron Anderson of Ipswich|Lord Anderson of Ipswich]]
| {{party color cell|Crossbencher}}
| Crossbench
|-
| [[Kay Andrews, Baroness Andrews|Baroness Andrews]]
| {{party color cell|Labour Party (UK)}}
| Labour
|-
| [[Alan Beith|Lord Beith]]
| {{party color cell|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}
| Liberal Democrat
|-
| [[Christopher Bellamy, Baron Bellamy|Lord Bellamy]]
| {{party color cell|Conservative Party (UK)}}
| Conservative
|-
| [[Ian Burnett, Baron Burnett of Maldon|Lord Burnett of Maldon]]
| {{party color cell|Crossbencher}}
| Crossbench
|-
| [[George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock|Lord Foulkes of Cumnock]]
| {{party color cell|Labour Party (UK)}}
| Labour
|-
| [[Leslie Griffiths|Lord Griffiths of Burry Port]]
| {{party color cell|Labour Party (UK)}}
| Labour
|-
| [[Sally Hamwee, Baroness Hamwee|Baroness Hamwee]]
| {{party color cell|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}
| Liberal Democrat
|-
| [[Eleanor Laing|Baroness Laing of Elderslie]]
| {{party color cell|Conservative Party (UK)}}
| Conservative
|-
| [[Paul Murphy, Baron Murphy of Torfaen|Lord Murphy of Torfaen]]
| {{party color cell|Labour Party (UK)}}
| Labour
|-
| [[William Waldegrave, Baron Waldegrave of North Hill|Lord Waldegrave of North Hill]]
| {{party color cell|Conservative Party (UK)}}
| Conservative
|}

== See also ==
*[[Parliamentary committees of the United Kingdom]]

== References ==
<references/>

== External links ==
*[http://www.parliament.uk/hlconstitution Constitution Committee website]

{{UKParliamentCommittees}}

[[Category:Committees of the House of Lords]]
[[Category:Constitution of the United Kingdom]]