ABSTRACT
People often associate select committees of the House of Commons with the system of departmental select committees set up in 1979; but in fact the House has used select committees for centuries to investigate, to advise, to consider complex matters – in fact for any task which is more effectively carried out by a small group of MPs than by the House as a whole. Indeed, the very name ‘select committee’ indicates that a task or function has been given, or committed, to that body, composed of MPs selected to sit upon it.
