Select Committees

Select Committees are set up to examine the work of Government Departments, and now constitute the main investigatory system by which the House overseas the exercise of Government responsibilities and the development of public policy and expenditure.

The following information on Select Committees is available on the Parliament website:

Select Committee membership: www.parliament.uk/directories/hciolists/selmem.cfm

Links to Select Committee home pages containing information on the work of the Select Committee and its publications: www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/parliamentary_committees16.cfm

For further information on Select Committees see HCIO Factsheet P2 produced by the House of Commons Information Office, available in hardcopy on request or to download from the Parliament website.

Membership:

None

Select Committee Meetings
4 - 8 May 2009

Monday 4 May

None

Tuesday 5 May

Environmental Audit
Subject: Greening Government
Witnesses: Andrew Lee, Director, Minas Jacob, Team Leader, Watchdog, and Farooq Ullah, Policy Analyst, Strategic Assessment, Sustainable Development Commission; William Jordan, Chief Sustainability and Operating Officer, Office of Government Commerce, Bill Stow, Director General, Strategy and Evidence Group, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Trevor Hutchings, Head of the Low Carbon Economy Divisions, Department of Energy and Climate Change

Culture, Media and Sport
Subject: Press standards, privacy and libel
Witnesses: Colin Myler, Editor, News of the World, and Tom Crone, News Group Newspapers; Ian Hislop, Editor, Private Eye, and Alan Rusbridger, Editor, The Guardian

Home Affairs
Subject: (i) Policing of G20 Protests (ii) Tasers (iii) Gurkhas: The Government's Response
Witnesses: (i) National Union of Journalists (ii) Amnesty International, Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (iii) Phil Woolas MP, Minister for Borders and Immigration, Home Office; Ministry of Defence; Joanna Lumley

Welsh Affairs
Subject: English Language Broadcasting in Wales
Witnesses: Ofcom; S4C ITV; BBC

Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills
Subject: Pre-appointment hearing with Chair-elect of the Economic and Social Research Council
Witnesses: Dr Alan Gillespie

Justice
Subject: (i) Sentencing Guidelines: fraud sentencing (ii) Sentencing Guidelines: youth sentencing (iii) The role of the Prison Officer
Witnesses: (i) Professor Michael Levi, University of Cardiff (ii) Sally Ireland, Chair, Standing Committee for Youth Justice and Katy Swaine, Legal Director, Children's Rights Alliance (iii) Professor Andrew Coyle CMG, Professor of Prison Studies, King's College London

Wednesday 6 May

Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Sub-Committee
Subject: Students and Universities
Witnesses: Professor Michael Arthur, Vice-Chancellor, University of Leeds, Professor Michael Driscoll, Vice-Chancellor, Middlesex University, and Professor Roger Brown, former Vice-Chancellor of Southampton Solent University; Sally Hunt, General Secretary, University and College Union

Children, Schools and Families
Subject: School Accountability
Witnesses: Christine Gilbert CBE, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills

Energy and Climate Change
Subject: Future of Britain's Electricity Networks
Witnesses: Energy Networks Association; Institution of Engineering and Technology

Scottish Affairs
Subject: Crisis in the Scottish press industry
Witnesses: Newsquest, The Scotsman, Scottish Daily Newspapers Society, and Trinity Mirror plc

Transport
Subject: Future of aviation
Witnesses: Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Civil Aviation Authority, and Royal Aeronautical Society; Committee on Climate Change (at 3.30pm); Environment Agency

Public Accounts
Subject: The National Offender Management Information System
Witnesses: Phil Wheatley CB, Director General, and Ann Beasley, Director of Finance and Performance, National Offender Management Service, Ministry of Justice

Thursday 7 May

Health
Subject: Alcohol
Witnesses: Mike Kelly, Director, Centre for Public Health Excellence, National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, Dr Lynn Owens, Nurse Consultant, Liverpool PCT, and Dr Paul Cassidy, GP; Robin Touquet, Professor of Emergency Medicine, St Mary's Hospital, London, Dr Duncan Raistrick, Director, Leeds Addiction Unit, Carole Binns, Service Manager for Mental Health Communities, Health & Care, Southampton City Council, and Brian Hayes, Paramedic Team Leader, Waterloo Ambulance Station

Public Administration
Subject: Special Advisers
Witnesses: Sir Richard Mottram, former Permanent Secretary, and Visiting Professor, London School of Economics, Mr Peter Riddell, Chief Political Commentator, The Times, and Senior Fellow, Institute for Government and Mr Lance Price, former Deputy Press Spokesman to the Prime Minister; Cabinet Office

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Subject: Securing food supplies up to 2050: the challenges for the UK
Witnesses: Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Friday 8 May

None

All public select committee meetings are webcast
Select committees marked with * will be taken by BBC Parliament
Recorded information about forthcoming select and standing committee meetings over the next two sitting days is available on:[Tel 020 7219 2033]. Please note: The decision of a Committee to sit in public may be rescinded, and the place altered without notice and Committees which sit at short notice may not be included in this list.

Forthcoming Select Committee Meetings
11 - 15 May 2009

Monday 11 May

West Midlands Regional Committee Subject: The impact of the current economic and financial situation on businesses in the West Midlands Region Witnesses: Federation of Small Businesses, Hereford and Worcester Chamber of Commerce and West Midlands Business Council.	11:15am	Sydni Centre, Leamington Spa
South East Regional Subject: The South East England Development Agency and the Regional Economic Strategy Witnesses: Regional Development Agency; Government Office for the South East (at 1.00 pm).	11:45am	Aylesham and District Community Trust
Welsh Affairs Subject: Digital Inclusion in Wales Witnesses: Welsh Language Board and dotCYM; Bangor University and Open University (at 3.15 pm).	2:30pm	Bangor University, Wales
Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Sub-Committee Subject: Students and Universities Witnesses: Rt Hon John Denham MP, Secretary of State, Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, and Sir Alan Langlands, Chief Executive, Higher Education Funding Council for England.	4:30pm	The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
Communities and Local Government Subject: Planning Policy Statement 6 Witnesses: Kate Barker; Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Aldi and the Co-op (at 5.00 pm); John Lewis, the Independent Retailers Confederation and the British Council of Shopping Centres (at 5.30 pm); Tescopoly Alliance, the Women's Environmental Network and the Association of North Thames Amenity Societies (at 5.55 pm).	4:40pm	The Wilson Room, Portcullis House

Tuesday 12 May

Wednesday 13 May

Public Accounts* Subject: Living accommodation for service families Witnesses: Sir Bill Jeffrey KCB, Permanent Under-Secretary of Defence, Vice Admiral P J Wilkinson CVO BA FCIPD, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Personnel), and Vice Admiral Tim Laurence CB MVO ADC, Chief Executive Defence Estates, Ministry of Defence.

3:30pm

Committee Room 15, Palace of Westminster

Thursday 14 May

Friday 15 May

None

[The decision of a Committee to sit in public may be rescinded without notice]

All public select committee meetings are webcast
Select committees marked with * will be taken by BBC Parliament
Recorded information about forthcoming select and standing committee meetings over the next two sitting days is available on:[Tel 020 7219 2033]. Please note: The decision of a Committee to sit in public may be rescinded, and the place altered without notice and Committees which sit at short notice may not be included in this list.