Moved by
The Senior Deputy Speaker
That the Report from the Select Committee New special inquiry
committees 2020–21 (2nd Report, HL Paper 102) be agreed to.
The Senior Deputy Speaker () [V]
My Lords, I beg to move that the Second Report of the Liaison
Committee be agreed to. I am once again very grateful indeed to
all the Members of the House who put forward proposals for new
special inquiry committees. The Liaison Committee has had an
excellent range of topics to choose from—24 in total—and the
proposals underlined the range and breadth of expertise in your
Lordships’ House. The Liaison Committee always has a difficult
task in choosing which committees to recommend, and this year was
no exception.
The process through which that choice is made has been modified
for this year, as a result of Member feedback and changes agreed
during the review of committees. A new stage in the
decision-making of the Liaison Committee has been introduced, at
which each Member who has succeeded in having their proposal
shortlisted for further scoping was invited to attend and make
their case to the committee. These exchanges with Members
promoting individual topics were vital in informing our
decision-making.
I hope all will agree that the committee’s initial
recommendations cover subjects which will make excellent use of
Members’ talents and contribute to debate and policy-making in
highly topical and cross-cutting areas. Our timescales for
decision-making and appointment have also been modified, as a
result of the parliamentary response to Covid-19 and the
extension of reporting deadlines for previous special inquiries.
We are proposing two committees for appointment in the report
before the House today, but intend to revisit this and
potentially recommend further committees for appointment before
the end of the year.
We agreed the following proposals for special inquiry committees:
first, National Plan for Sport and Recreation, proposed by the
noble Lord, ; and,
secondly, Risk Assessment and Risk Planning, proposed by the
noble Lord, .
As the report details, the UK is due to host several large
international sporting events in the coming years, and the 10th
anniversary of the London Olympics is also on the horizon. Sport
will be at the forefront of many headlines, and a committee with
this focus will be topical and of public interest. The committee
could examine issues including the strategy-making of
Sport England the part played by the Government
in delivering sport and recreation, and the role of national
governing bodies.
An inquiry focused upon risk is highly pertinent given our
current circumstances, and would allow an opportunity to focus
upon the risk identification process, risk ownership, the
national risk assessment and risk register, and the work of the
Civil Contingencies Secretariat.
We considered all proposals received against our published set of
criteria, considering which could: make best use of the knowledge
and experience of Members of the House; complement the work of
Commons departmental Select Committees; address areas of policy
that cross departmental boundaries; and confine the proposed
inquiry to one Session.
The committee took care and time in coming to its conclusions. I
hope the House will agree with me that our initial
recommendations will provide a timely and manageable set of
inquiries. I end on a note of gratitude for the work of all our
committees. The enthusiasm with which Members from all sides of
the House approach this aspect of our work is exemplary. We
should all be proud of their work. In that vein, I beg to move.
Motion agreed.
