Committee powers - and au revoir, for now
A giant leap for select committees today, and a modest skip towards greater powers as well. Francis Maude, the minister for the Cabinet Office, has agreed in principle to give the Public Administration Committee a role in approving the creation of new quangos. It would mean that any proposals to create new quangos or reorganise existing ones would have to be approved by the committee.
Details of the new role, which was originally recommended by the in its recent report on quangos, are to be worked out between the government and PASC.
Meanwhile Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, is promising the Education Committee a role in approving key education appointments - although he hasn't followed the Chancellor's lead in conceding a veto power to them. (George Osborne, you'll remember, has said the Treasury Committee should have a veto over the appointment and removal of the head of the new watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility.)
Education Secretary and committee will now discuss what power they should have over which appointments. But a door has now been opened. How long, I wonder, before committees start going after the biggest prizes of all - approving ministerial appointments and departmental budgets. If they ever get to do either of those, the revolution will truly have arrived.
* Parliament's disappearing for the summer, and so am I. Blogging will resume in September, when the Commons returns for a two week session, before the party conferences. But one interesting question remains for the new parliament. Who will be the first MP to demand an emergency recall? It always used to be Tam Dalyell...
I'm Mark D'Arcy and I'll be writing about what goes on in the chambers and committee rooms at Westminster.
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