Scottish Affairs Select Committee
The Scottish Affairs Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland (and prior to that, the Scottish Office), and relations with the Scottish Parliament. It also looks at the administration and expenditure of the Advocate General for Scotland.[1]
| This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the |
| Politics of Scotland |
|---|
 |
|
Unlike the Scottish Grand Committee, MPs from constituencies outside Scotland can, and do, sit on the Scottish Affairs Committee.
Predecessors
Before 1992 there was not consistent Select Committee scrutiny of Scottish affairs.[2] In 1968 a committee was formed partly in response to the growth of Scottish nationalism, although the committee was closed down by a reorganisation of select committees by Edward Heath's government in 1972. In 1979 Norman St John Stevas the Leader of the House under Margaret Thatcher's government instituted a Select Committee system that closely mirrored government departments in order to have better parliamentary scrutiny of the government. This was again discontinued in 1987 although there was an alternative Scottish Affairs committee manned by opposition MPs.[2]
Membership
Following the 2019 general election, the House of Commons appointed the members of the Scottish Affairs committee on 4 May 2020. As of February 2023 the membership is as follows:[3]
Changes since 2019
| Date | Outgoing Member & Party |
Constituency | → | New Member & Party |
Constituency | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 June 2020 | David Duguid MP (Conservative) | Banff and Buchan | → | Douglas Ross MP (Conservative) | Moray | Hansard | ||
| 8 November 2022 | Andrew Bowie MP (Conservative) | West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine | → | David Duguid MP (Conservative) | Banff and Buchan | Hansard | ||
| 9 January 2023 | Mhairi Black MP (SNP) | Paisley and Renfrewshire South | → | Dr Philippa Whitford MP (SNP) | Central Ayrshire | Hansard | ||
| 21 February 2023[lower-alpha 1] | Jon Cruddas MP (Labour) | Dagenham and Rainham | → | Christine Jardine MP (Liberal Democrats) | Edinburgh West | Hansard | ||
| Liz Twist MP (Labour) | Blaydon | Andrew Western MP (Labour) | Stretford and Urmston | |||||
| 22 May 2023 | John Lamont MP (Conservative) | Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk | → | Mark Menzies MP (Conservative) | Fylde | Hansard | ||
- Unusually, this motion was voted on by MPs. David Linden objected the nomination due to Labour nominating a Liberal Democrat MP to one of their vacant positions. Since both appointments were within the same motion, both were voted on. Members of select committees for each party are decided within the party, and parties can choose any MP to serve for one of their seats, including from outside of their party. The appointment passed with 383 votes to 37.
2017-2019 Parliament
The election of the chair took place on 12 July 2017, with the members of the committee being announced on 11 September 2017.[4][5]
Changes 2017-2019
| Date | Outgoing Member & Party |
Constituency | → | New Member & Party |
Constituency | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 October 2018 | Paul Masterton MP (Conservative) | East Renfrewshire | → | Kirstene Hair MP (Conservative) | Angus | Hansard | ||
| 1 April 2019 | Kirstene Hair MP (Conservative) | Angus | → | Paul Masterton MP (Conservative) | East Renfrewshire | Hansard | ||
| 21 October 2019 | Christine Jardine MP (Liberal Democrats) | Edinburgh West | → | Jamie Stone MP (Liberal Democrats) | Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | Hansard | ||
2015-2017 Parliament
The chair was elected on 18 June 2015, with members being announced on 6 July 2015.[6][7]
Changes 2015-2017
| Date | Outgoing Member & Party |
Constituency | → | New Member & Party |
Constituency | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 2016 | David Anderson MP (Labour) | Blaydon | → | Ian Murray MP (Labour) | Edinburgh South | Hansard | ||
| Kirsty Blackman MP (SNP) | Aberdeen North | Deidre Brock MP (SNP) | Edinburgh North and Leith | |||||
| 28 November 2016 | Maggie Throup MP (Conservative) | Erewash | → | Anna Soubry MP (Conservative) | Broxtowe | Hansard | ||
| 23 January 2017 | Dr Dan Poulter MP (Conservative) | Central Suffolk and North Ipswich | → | Craig Williams MP (Conservative) | Cardiff North | Hansard | ||
2010-2015 Parliament
The chair was elected on 10 June 2010, with members being announced on 12 July 2010.[8][9]
Changes 2010-2015
List of chairs
| Member | First elected | Method | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vacant[10] | June 1987 | ||
| William McKelvey[10] | 15 July 1992 | Elected by the Select Committee | |
| Irene Adams | 14 July 1997 | Elected by the Select Committee | |
| Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar | 13 July 2005 | Elected by the Select Committee | |
| Ian Davidson[11] | 10 June 2010 | Elected by the House of Commons (uncontested) | |
| Pete Wishart[12] | 10 June 2015 | Elected by the House of Commons (uncontested) | |
References
- UK Parliament – Scottish Affairs Select Committee Home Page
- A COMMITTEE AGAIN: THE FIRST YEAR OF THE REVIVED SELECT COMMITTEE ON SCOTTISH AFFAIRS, Allan McConnell and Robert Pyper, Scottish Affairs, no.7, Spring 1994
- "Scottish Affairs Committee – Membershi". committees.parliament.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- "Speaker's Statement: Select Committee Chairs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 627. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 12 July 2017.
- "Business without Debate". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 628. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 11 September 2017.
- "Speaker's Statement". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 597. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 18 June 2015.
- "Committees". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 598. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 6 July 2015.
- "Speaker's Statement". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 511. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 10 June 2010.
- "Committees". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 513. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 12 July 2010.
- "House of Commons – Liaison Committee – First Report". UK Parliament. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- "Winning candidates for select committee Chairs announced". UK Parliament. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- "Results of elections for select committee chairs announced". UK Parliament. Retrieved 17 September 2019.