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Enhancing the Scrutiny Role of Select Committees: The House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee’s New Independent Expert Panel

Peckham, Stephen, Jane Dacre, Dame, Appleby, John, Charlesworth, Anita, Francis, Robert (2022) Enhancing the Scrutiny Role of Select Committees: The House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee’s New Independent Expert Panel. Parliamentary Affairs, . Article Number gsac025. ISSN 0031-2290. E-ISSN 1460-2482. (doi:10.1093/pa/gsac025) (KAR id:99207)

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Official URL:
https://doi.org/10.1093/pa%2Fgsac025

Abstract

We report on a recent innovation for one Departmental Select Committee. While government policy commitments are well publicised, little attention is paid to the quality of commitments made or to assessing progress against those commitments. In 2020, the Health and Social Care Select Committee commissioned an Expert Panel to conduct independent, in-depth evaluations of government progress on selected policy commitments. The first evaluations in 2021/22 assessed commitments in maternity, mental health and cancer services, and workforce and it was the first time a government department has been systematically graded against its own commitments. This is an important new method of scrutiny with the potential to complement and enhance the work of Select Committee inquiries. This paper reviews the development of select committees highlighting issues relating to their operation and, in particular, assessment of evidence. We describe the innovation of the Expert Panel and its role in reviewing policy commitments and discuss implications for parliamentary scrutiny, leadership and improvements to health service.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1093/pa/gsac025
Uncontrolled keywords: UK Parliament, Select committees, Policy evaluation, Special advisors
Subjects: J Political Science
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research > Centre for Health Services Studies
Funders: University of Kent (https://ror.org/00xkeyj56)
Depositing User: Suzanne Duffy
Date Deposited: 16 Dec 2022 11:55 UTC
Last Modified: 11 Jan 2023 15:19 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/99207 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)
Peckham, Stephen: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7002-2614
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