Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Chaired by: Simon Hoare, Conservative MP for North Dorset
Current inquiries: Propriety, ethics and the wider standards landscape in the UK; mission government; ministerial statements and the ministerial code; public bodies; the work of the UK Statistics Authority; the work and performance of the PHSO; the PHSO’s investigations into the Charity Commission; recommendations of the Infected Blood Inquiry (stage 1)
What makes a good select committee chair?
The first thing is an ability to get on with people. You’re trying to forge a cross-party group and to get the best out of the committee as a collective, you’ve got to like your colleagues and work alongside them. I think it’s important not to be a showboater, not to be after the “gotcha” moment, but to work out in advance with colleagues what it is you want to achieve from either the inquiry or from the session, and then to ask questions without fear or favour – to know when to push, to know when to stop, and to treat your witnesses with courtesy and respect.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve encountered in the last year – or the thing that has surprised you most?
None of us foresaw, within our work programme, the crisis with civil service pensions that’s now looming. None of us foresaw the problems that we would have with the UK Statistics Authority… and the Bank of England setting up a shadow statistics gathering organisation because they’d lost trust and confidence. So it’s trying to respond in real time to things as they arise, which then means that you have to put some of the programme stuff on the back burner.
How easy have you found it to call your chosen witnesses? And how helpful have you found them
We’ve had no problems at all. I think broadly, people understand the importance of the work that select committees do, understand the necessity of attendance if requested, and are not unalert to the reputational risks which accrue if people refuse or become difficult.
How responsive have you found the government to be to PACAC’s reports so far
I think they are pretty alert to the issues at hand… Do they say yes to everything? No, and one wouldn’t expect them to. But I think we have a good relationship with the ministers in the Cabinet Office, and that helps as well. And that’s not to say it’s cosy, that’s not to say it’s anything other than professional, but I think there needs to be a respect between the departmental ministers and the members of the select committee which is scrutinising them.
What are your priorities for the next 12 months?
I think we’ve got to resolve the civil service pension issue that is now key for so many people. And I think that opens up a wider discussion of: does the market of private provision exist in, for example, the pension sphere? Is the choice out there, when government goes out to contract a service? And then we will want to find out what the government’s vision is for modernisation of the civil service. Why does the civil service need reform? At what pace can it be reformed? We need to understand the purpose of the reform and the beneficial outcomes for citizens and the governance of this country, and how we will feel that in our everyday lives.
Health and Social Care Committee
Chaired by: Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon
Current inquiries: Health bill; delivering the Neighbourhood Health Service: estates; healthy ageing: physical activity in an ageing society; community mental health services; children and young people’s mental health; food and weight management; the first 1,000 days: a renewed focus; adult social care reform: the cost of inaction
What makes a good select committee chair?
The role of a select committee and its chair is to scrutinise the government and the wider health and social care sector. We consider ourselves the critical friend. So my job is to be curious, have my ear to the ground, have a healthy dose of scepticism about what we’re being told, and crucially, be led by the evidence we hear, not by preconceptions or politics.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve encountered in the last year – or the thing that has surprised you most?
Getting an accurate picture of the way that money is allocated for different purposes across the NHS has been challenging because of the way it is structured. Centralised figures for how much money is being spent across the country on priority areas like prevention or community services isn’t published as standard, and that can hinder investigation.
How easy have you found it to call your chosen departmental witnesses, and how helpful and informative have you found witnesses during hearings?
Despite our party differences, I have found my interactions with health and social care ministers courteous and forthcoming. I think they understand the value of scrutiny and the role of the committee. I hope the same goes for officials who come too. If you know your stuff and don’t obfuscate, you have nothing to fear.
How responsive has your chosen department been to your committee’s reports and recommendations so far?
There have been a number of ideas taken forward from our reports, though sometimes months after an official response has been sent back to us. For example, it was announced in April that new midwives will undertake anti-racism training to address the poor outcomes that black mothers have in maternity care. This idea was rejected by the government when we recommended it last year.
What are your priorities for the next 12 months?
We are driven by a mission of channelling our constituents’ voices on the issues that we worry others may forget about. Prevention is the theme that links two of our inquiries which we’ll produce reports on this year – healthy ageing and food and weight management. On both counts, the evidence is telling us that eating healthily and living an active lifestyle is the way to reduce the risk of serious diseases, improve quality of life and reduce demand on the NHS. We want to show government how it can apply those principles into practical reforms. We also await the workforce plan, which should pave the way for how the NHS will shift to neighbourhood delivery of services, and legislation that will see NHS England absorbed into the Department of Health and Social Care. Both will be high-stakes moments that the government will need help from this committee to get right.
Transport Committee
Chaired by: Ruth Cadbury, Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth
Current inquiries: Road Safety Strategy; railways bill; skills for transport manufacturing; National Policy Statement for Ports; supercharging the EV transition; joined-up journeys: achieving and measuring transport integration; licensing of taxis and private hire vehicles; rail investment pipelines: ending boom and bust
What makes a good select committee chair?
Being able to work collaboratively and achieve an outcome that the whole committee can support. Also being able to ensure the committee has a balanced programme that responds to concerns of committee members and colleagues in the Commons.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve encountered in the last year – or the thing that has surprised you most?
Throughout our inquiry into the railways bill, one big challenge was scrutinising that legislation while the government kept its cards close to its chest and it wasn’t clear when key documents would emerge. Deciding when to scrutinise a policy for maximum impact is an art not a science.
How easy have you found it to call your chosen witnesses, and how helpful and informative have you found witnesses during hearings?
We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who puts aside time to inform our scrutiny through their evidence at hearings. In general, people are eager to speak to us. Sometimes private sector organisations can be less keen, perhaps because they are concerned about commercial confidentiality. This is a shame because there is no substitute for the committee hearing directly from organisations affected by government policy, and it is an unparalleled opportunity to influence scrutiny of that policy.
How responsive has your chosen department been to your committee’s reports and recommendations so far?
DfT has accepted some of our recent recommendations. Last year, it agreed with us that there is a need to review and streamline the legislation on transport accessibility, and it is working with the Law Commission to take that forward. Earlier this year, it agreed to publish more information about the framework for a new regime under Great British Railways, after we called for this in our report on the railways bill.
What are your priorities for the next 12 months?
Beyond the railways bill, we’ll be continuing to keep an eye on the progress of rail reform – there is a huge amount for the department to do before Great British Railways is established in 2027. As well as our ongoing inquiries, I will continue to make the case for greater accessibility in transport, and later this year we also expect to be heavily involved in scrutinising the government’s planning policy for expansion of Heathrow Airport.
Women and Equalities Committee
(note: this Q&A took place before 26 July, when Sarah Owen left her role as chair of the committee to become a minister of the Northern Ireland Office. A chair will be appointed after summer recess)
Then chaired by: Sarah Owen, Labour MP for Luton North
Current inquiries: 11 including: equality at work: flexible working and disability; Black homelessness; egg donation and freezing; misogyny: the manosphere and online content; community cohesion
What makes a good select committee chair?
A willingness to set aside party politics and work with members across the House on even the most sensitive subjects to secure policy change which improves people’s lives, and having the tenacity to pursue that change, not taking no for an answer.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve encountered in the last year – or the thing that has surprised you most?
WEC hosted the first select committee meeting to be completely British Sign Language-accessible during our session into the progress made since the passing of the BSL Act. It was a joy to take evidence firsthand from our panel of representatives from the Deaf community but it was hard to make it happen. This should be the norm in parliament but challenges in accessing committee proceedings for disabled people remain and need addressing.
How easy have you found it to call your chosen departmental witnesses, and how helpful and informative have you found witnesses during hearings?
The best departmental witnesses have been open to constructive challenge and feedback from committee members, and it’s good to hear honest assessments of trade-offs and decision making. We’ve questioned lots of witnesses across our inquiries – hearing powerful and at times shocking testimonies.
How responsive has the government been to your committee’s reports and recommendations so far?
We’ve had good returns from our recommendations so far. On employment, WEC secured overdue change for parents who suffer a miscarriage, following the government’s acceptance of our amendment to the employment rights bill, giving a statutory entitlement to bereavement leave for parents who experience pre-24-week pregnancy loss (including IVF failure). The bill also included a ban on non-disclosure agreements in cases of discrimination and abuse, something we and others had been calling for. The government implemented many of our recommendations on tackling non-consensual intimate image abuse – although more can be done – and committed to launch a research call on the merits of reconstructive surgery for victims of female genital mutilation. Women’s health and tackling “medical misogyny” has been a big focus for us. It’s vital the government’s relaunched Women’s Health Strategy is given the resource it requires.
What are your priorities for the next 12 months?
There’s lots to come – we’re looking at flexible working and disability as part of WEC’s equality at work focus, while our new inquiry on routes into sport for girls and women will begin taking evidence. We will also keep the government accountable in areas such as parental leave and women’s health.
This article first appeared in the CSW summer 2026 magazine which you can read here