06 June 2008
Parliament should be empowered to initiate and conduct inquiries on major issues such as Iraq, a committee of MPs has said.
The public administration select committee says Parliament should be able to establish its own 'parliamentary commissions of inquiry', especially in cases where the government is reluctant to set up its own inquiry.
Such inquiries
would be composed of MPs, peers and non-parliamentarians with relevant expertise and would be used only for the most exceptional matters, PASC's May 30 report says. Such powers would be constitutionally important, as they would allow Parliament to hold the executive to account much more effectively.
However, a 'sifting' mechanism would be needed to ensure only the most serious and worthwhile proposals were considered. The parliamentary liaison committee — made up of all the select committee chairs — could be employed to receive and consider proposals for such inquiries, the report says.
PASC chair Tony Wright said: 'This would be a crucial addition to our constitutional arrangements.'
PFjun2008
