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The House of Lords Liaison Committee today publishes its report on Committee activity in 2023-24.

• Report: Review of House of Lords investigative and scrutiny committee activity in 2023-24 (HTML)
• Report: Review of House of Lords investigative and scrutiny committee activity in 2023-24 (PDF)
• Enhanced summary
• Liaison Committee

Key points

2023/24 was a busy and productive year for House of Lords committees. As the report sets out, Committees were highly active in scrutinising the activities of government and contributing to the development of public policy and legislation. They shaped and contributed to major public debates, and worked in an open way to engage with a vast range of individuals and organisations, giving them the opportunity to contribute their expertise and experience to policy and legislative scrutiny and development. Over the last year Lords Committees held 603 meetings, published 57 reports and heard from 1065 witnesses.

The review highlights the impact of committee work. This includes legislative amendments, recommendations accepted by Government and incorporated into future policy and strategies or informing Parliamentary and public debate on key and relevant topics. Some highlights include:

• The International Agreements Committee recommended that the Government not ratify the UK-Rwanda Agreement on Asylum Partnership until Parliament was satisfied that the protections it provided has been fully implemented. The House subsequently passed a motion under section 20 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRAG) endorsing the Committee’s recommendations;
• In September 2023 the Information Commissioner’s Office published guidance for sharing information to safeguard children, which resulted from continued engagement by the Public Services Committee through both public and private evidence sessions;
• In February 2024, the Government announced it would give local planning authorities the choice over whether to require planning permission for the creation of a new short-term let, in line with recommendations from the Built Environment Committee as part of its work on short-term lettings.

2023/24 saw the conclusion of 4 special inquiry committees; AI in Weapon Systems, Education for 11–16 Year Olds, the Horticultural Sector and the Integration of Primary and Community Care. The Government accepted most of the recommendations of the AI in Weapon Systems Committee. 2023/24 also saw the appointment of 4 new special inquiry committees: Food, Diet and Obesity, the Modern Slavery Act 2015, Preterm birth; and Statutory inquiries.