Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 28
28
Deferred
Paragraph: 133
Strengthen international agreement scrutiny in Commons committees and establish a new bespoke committee.
Recommendation
The current arrangements in Parliament for the scrutiny of international agreements are not commensurate with their constitutional importance. The House of Lords has taken steps to address this constitutional lacuna with the establishment of the International Agreements Committee. By contrast, the scrutiny arrangements in the House of Commons are currently insufficient to carry out what is a core function of Parliament, namely the scrutiny of international agreements. This core function should be understood to include involvement in the mandate setting and negotiation phases, the ultimate approval of treaties, and holding the Government to account for their exercise of powers to negotiate and reach these agreements. The important work done by the International Trade Committee during its existence has demonstrated the vital nature of a strategic approach to the parliamentary scrutiny of treaties. Furthermore, we are of the view that the statutory changes we have recommended earlier in this report, requiring all treaties to be subject to parliamentary process and, in appropriate cases, expressly approved by the House of Commons, should result in a greater focus from committees on international agreements. It is clear that the House of Commons is well placed to use its existing subject specialism in the departmental committee structure to provide detailed policy-focused scrutiny of international agreements. However, we note that this may not be sufficient by itself. We recommend that the Liaison Committee adds the scrutiny of international agreements to the core tasks of all relevant committees. To further support this aim, we call on the Government to bring forward a motion to amend the Standing Orders to add “scrutiny of relevant international agreements” to the remit of all relevant committees. Moreover, to ensure that scrutiny of international agreements is given the necessary attention in the House of Commons, we further recommend that a bespoke committee is estab
Government Response Summary
The government partially agrees on the principle of parliamentary accountability for treaties but rejects recommendations for parliamentary approval of treaties and largely deflects the specific recommendations for new scrutiny mechanisms to Parliament itself.
Paragraph Reference:
133
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
Partially agree. The Government agrees that a core function of Parliament is to hold the Government to account, including in relation to treaties. The Government recognises that departmental Select Committees have subject matter expertise that they may wish to apply to the assessment and scrutiny of treaties signed by their respective Government departments. However, the Government does not agree with the Committee’s recommendations that would require Parliament to approve treaties and notes that how Parliament chooses to hold Government to account and carry out its statutory responsibilities for treaty scrutiny are matters for Parliament. The Government welcomes any efforts to ensure the UK has an efficient, sustainable process of scrutiny to support transparency and accountability in its treaty making. It will continue to engage with any committee tasked with scrutinising treaties in a constructive way. The Government has welcomed the scrutiny efforts provided by the IAC in the House of Lords, which provides a valuable scanning function. It is a matter for the House of Commons whether to introduce a similar function. Government Response 13