Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee
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The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (PACAC), formerly known as the Public Administration Select Committee, is a committee appointed by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Its primary role is to scrutinize reports from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, monitor the quality of administration in civil service departments, and examine issues relating to the civil service and constitutional affairs. The committee primarily focuses on matters in England and Wales but also considers broader constitutional and administrative issues affecting the United Kingdom.
PACAC plays a vital role in ensuring transparency, accountability, and efficiency in public administration and governance. Its inquiries often address key concerns about the functioning of government institutions, public service delivery, and the implementation of constitutional principles.
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
Membership of the committee is as follows:[2]
Changes since 2024
| Date | Outgoing Member & Party |
Constituency | → | New Member & Party |
Constituency | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 January 2025 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | John Grady MP (Labour) | Glasgow East | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Sam Carling MP (Labour) | North West Cambridgeshire | Hansard |
2019–2024 Parliament
The chair was elected on 29 January 2020, with the members of the committee being announced on 2 March 2020.[3][4]
Changes 2019-2024
| Date | Outgoing Member and Party |
Constituency | → | New Member and Party |
Constituency | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 September 2020 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Chris Evans MP (Labour and Co-op) | Islwyn | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Navendu Mishra MP (Labour) | Stockport | Hansard |
| 22 February 2021 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Navendu Mishra MP (Labour) | Stockport | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | John McDonnell MP (Labour) | Hayes and Harlington | Hansard |
| 17 May 2022 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Rachel Hopkins MP (Labour) | Luton South | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Beth Winter MP (Labour) | Cynon Valley | Hansard |
| 21 November 2022 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | David Mundell MP (Conservative) | Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Damien Moore MP (Conservative) | Southport | Hansard |
| 6 December 2022 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Jackie Doyle-Price MP (Conservative) | Thurrock | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Jo Gideon MP (Conservative) | Stoke-on-Trent Central | Hansard |
| 15 April 2024 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | William Wragg MP (Chair, Independent) | Hazel Grove | → | Vacant | Hansard | ||
| 8 May 2024 | Vacant | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Jackie Doyle-Price MP (Chair, Conservative) | Thurrock | Hansard | ||
2017–2019 Parliament
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]
Changes 2017-2019
| Date | Outgoing Member and Party |
Constituency | → | New Member and Party |
Constituency | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 January 2018 | New seat | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Sarah Champion MP (Labour) | Rotherham | Hansard | ||
| 4 June 2018 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Sarah Champion MP (Labour) | Rotherham | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Tulip Siddiq MP (Labour) | Hampstead and Kilburn | Hansard |
| 17 February 2019 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Paul Flynn MP (Labour) | Newport West | → | Vacant | Death of member[7] | ||
| 25 February 2019 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Sandy Martin MP (Labour) | Ipswich | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Eleanor Smith MP (Labour) | Wolverhampton South West | Hansard |
2015–2017 Parliament
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]
Changes 2015-2017
| Date | Outgoing Member and Party |
Constituency | → | New Member and Party |
Constituency | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 October 2016 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Oliver Dowden MP (Conservative) | Hertsmere | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Marcus Fysh MP (Conservative) | Yeovil | Hansard |
| style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | David Jones MP (Conservative) | Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Adam Holloway MP (Conservative) | Gravesham | |||
| style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Tom Tugendhat MP (Conservative) | Tonbridge and Malling | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Dan Poulter MP (Conservative) | Central Suffolk and North Ipswich | |||
| 19 December 2016 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Adam Holloway MP (Conservative) | Gravesham | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | John Stevenson MP (Conservative) | Carlisle | Hansard |
2010-2015 Parliament
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Bernard Jenkin MP (Chair) | Conservative | Harwich and North Essex |
| style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Kevin Brennan MP | Labour | Cardiff West |
| style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Nick de Bois MP | Conservative | Enfield North |
| style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Michael Dugher MP | Labour | Barnsley East |
| style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Charlie Elphicke MP | Conservative | Dover |
| style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Paul Flynn MP | Labour | Newport West |
| style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Robert Halfon MP | Conservative | Harlow |
| style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Greg Mulholland MP | Liberal | Leeds North West |
| style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Charles Walker MP | Conservative | Broxbourne |
Changes 2010-2015
| Date | Outgoing Member and Party |
Constituency | → | New Member and Party |
Constituency | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 July 2010 | New seat | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | David Heyes MP (Labour) | Ashton-under-Lyne | Hansard | ||
| style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Jon Trickett MP (Labour) | Hemsworth | ||||||
| 2 November 2010 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Jon Trickett MP (Labour) | Hemsworth | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Lindsay Roy MP (Labour) | Glenrothes | Hansard |
| 17 January 2011 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Kevin Brennan MP (Labour) | Cardiff West | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Kelvin Hopkins MP (Labour) | Luton North | Hansard |
| 9 May 2011 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Charles Walker MP (Conservative) | Broxbourne | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Alun Cairns MP (Conservative) | Vale of Glamorgan | Hansard |
| 5 December 2011 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Nick de Bois MP (Conservative) | Enfield North | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Priti Patel MP (Conservative) | Witham | Hansard |
| 10 December 2012 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Michael Dugher MP (Labour) | Barnsley East | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Steve Reed MP (Labour Co-op) | Croydon North | Hansard |
| 4 November 2013 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Charlie Elphicke MP (Conservative) | Dover | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Andrew Turner MP (Conservative) | Isle of Wight | Hansard |
| 11 November 2013 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Steve Reed MP (Labour) | Croydon North | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Sheila Gilmore MP(Labour) | Edinburgh East | Hansard |
| 12 May 2014 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Alun Cairns MP (Conservative) | Vale of Glamorgan | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Cheryl Gillan MP (Conservative) | Chesham and Amersham | Hansard |
| 12 May 2014 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Robert Halfon MP (Conservative) | Harlow | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Adam Holloway MP (Conservative) | Gravesham | Hansard |
| 23 June 2014 | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Priti Patel MP (Conservative) | Witham | → | style="color:inherit;background:Template:Party color" | | Nigel Evans MP (Conservative) | Ribble Valley | Hansard |
Reports
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]
See also
References
External links
- Public Administration Select Committee page on UK Parliament website
- Records for this Committee are held at the Parliamentary Archives
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- ↑ House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, Government and IT - "a recipe for rip-offs": time for a new approach, Volume 1, page 3, published 28 July 2011, accessed 30 July 2021
- ↑ Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Tinkler, J., and Bastow, S. (2006), Digital Era Governance: IT corporations, the state, and e-government, Oxford University Press.p. 70, quoted in Government and IT - "a recipe for rip-offs": time for a new approach, Volume 1, page 6
- ↑ Feaster-Gee, T., Kilduff, D., Parting shot from OFT regarding supply of ICT to the public sector, Walker Morris, published 16 April 2014, archived 15 May 2021, accessed 15 November 2022
- ↑ UK Government, Memorandum to the Public Administration Select Committee. Government Response to the Public Administration Select Committee’s report: Government and IT – "a recipe for rip-offs": time for a new approach: Further Report, with the Government Response to the Committee’s Twelfth Report of Session 2010 - 12, March 2012, accessed 26 November 2022
- ↑ UK Parliament, The role and status of the Prime Minister’s Office, published 9 June 2021, accessed 30 July 2021
- ↑ Suella Braverman reappointment sets dangerous precedent - MPs BBC
- ↑ Braverman return sets ‘dangerous precedent’, says Commons committee The Guardian