The successfully elected chairs of all Parliamentary Select Committees were announced on September 11th. Now parliament has returned and conferences have closed, we can expect the next phase of member nominations to begin shortly.
Chairs have been elected for 20 departmental committees and 7 non-departmental committees. Of these, there are 5 committees which have a particularly important role to play in supporting positive policy and action for the environment. These are:
- Energy Security and Net Zero Committee
- Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
- Environmental Audit Committee
- Committee for Business and Trade
- Treasury Committee.
Select Committees play an acutely important role. Operating in both the Commons (led by MPs) and in the Lords (led by Peers), they are cross-party groups keeping a watchful eye on the activity of government. This leads to inquiries being held, where the committee will take a deep dive into a topic, taking evidence from Ministers, Officials and industry experts, typically leading to a report. For businesses, staying abreast of committee’s work and recommendations is essential to managing your positions impacted by legislative and regulatory changes.
Committee for Energy Security and Net Zero (ESNZ)
Committee chair: Bill Esterson (Labour)
Constituency: Sefton Central (first elected 2010)
Pre-election committee priorities: In the 12 months prior to the General Election the committee focused primarily on scrutinising the ability of current energy markets and systems to support the transition to net zero. This included publishing reports on the economics of the energy sector and what reform is needed to support faster decarbonisation. The committee also has a large focus on consumer protection.
Bill Esterson background: Bill Esterson initially trained as an accountant and holds a degree in mathematics. He has been a strong supporter of environmental issues since being elected in 2010, including sitting on the EFRA committee and being a Shadow Minister in the Department of Transport and the Department for Business and Trade. He has never chaired a select committee previously.
Priorities and commitments from campaign: During his campaign to become committee chair, Esterson strongly supported the Government's clean power by 2030 goal and stated his committee would work to support this. He also raised support for developing alternative fuels (such as biomethane and hydrogen) and supported the publication of an alternative fuels strategy.
Committee for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA)
Committee chair: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrats)
Constituency: Orkney and Shetland (first elected 2001)
Pre-election committee priorities: The EFRA committee has a very broad scope and therefore covers a range of environmental issues. Their previous work included a report on reducing plastic waste and managing an effective implementation of pEPR, scrutinising water bosses and calling for greater support on biodiversity. They also have a strong focus on supporting farmers and environmental challenges they face.
Alistair Carmichael background: Carmichael has long been a strong environmental advocate and claims his rural upbringing on a farm shaped his passion for the natural world. He is an experienced former Government Minister and has held a number of environment and energy related roles for the Lib Dems. He is known in parliament for his ability to work collaboratively and gain cross-party consensus.
Priorities and commitments from campaign: Carmichael has stated that he will look to carry out work previously done by the EFRA committee and focus on water and biodiversity issues as well as supporting farmers and the rural economy. It is important to recognise the role environmental issues played in the Lib Dem’s election campaign and they will likely aim to exert a large amount of influence on environmental policy through this committee.
Environmental Audit Committee (EAC)
Committee chair: Toby Perkins (Labour)
Constituency: Chesterfield (first elected 2010)
Pre-election committee priorities: Like the EFRA committee, the EAC has a wide scope and covers energy, net zero, water and biodiversity. A key report they produced prior to the election was on how to support electrification of the economy. Prior to the election, the committee produced a legacy report from the successes the committee had during the 2019 parliament.
Toby Perkins background: In Parliament Perkins has been a strong supporter of environmental causes, with a particular focus on local environmental issues. Since May he has spoken in Parliament on issues including tree planting, biodiversity loss, the contracts for difference scheme, the Great British Energy Bill and environmental land management schemes. He previously sat as a member of the EFRA committee and served as a shadow minister for nature and rural affairs.
Priorities and commitments from campaign: During his election campaign, Perkins stated that there is nothing more important in this parliament than tackling the dual climate and nature crises. He believes his position as chair will help to keep environmental issues high on the political agenda and exert influence on Labour, even if he has to criticise his own party's policies. He also wants to improve public awareness of environmental issues.
Committee for Business and Trade (B&T)
Committee chair: Liam Byrne (Labour)
Constituency: Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North (first elected in 2004)
Pre-election committee priorities: The B&T committee’s work is not directly centred on environmental issues, but that doesn't mean they won't be interested. In the past year, the committee has published reports on the decarbonisation of power and a special report on batteries for electric vehicle manufacturing (after playing a key role in scrutinising the Government’s 2023 Battery Strategy).
Liam Byrne background: Liam Byrne comes from a business background, having received an MBA from Harvard Business School and previously working for Accenture and Rothschild & Co. As an experienced MP, he holds a strong insight on cross-party collaboration. He has previously served as the chair of the B&T committee, first being elected to this role in October 2023. This gives the committee a head start with a Chair being abreast of much of its work.
Priorities and commitments from campaign: He promised as chair he would focus on delivering economic growth for the country and place an emphasis on spreading growth around all regions. Much of industry will be looking to engage with this committee, so it'll be important to be clear on how to build on their workstream, rather than to try and create too many new avenues.
Treasury Select Committee (TSC)
Committee chair: Meg Hillier (Labour)
Constituency: Hackney South and Shoreditch (first elected in 2005)
Pre-election committee priorities: With several economic challenges over recent years and an increasingly difficult set of public finances to assess, the Treasury Committee really has its work cut out.
Meg Hillier background: Meg Hillier has a background in media and local politics. Upon Labour entering opposition in 2010 she was appointed as the shadow energy and climate change secretary. Her experience in this role opened her up to the main issues of climate change and she has been a strong supporter of environmental issues since. Hillier has strong previous experience of chairing select committees as she served as the chair of the Public Accounts Select Committee since 2015.
Priorities and commitments from campaign: Hillier set out during her campaign that the first job of her committee if elected would be scrutinising the work of Government in the run up to the budget on October 30th. She has stated before that net zero is a necessity rather than just a target and she is fully committed to supporting plans from the Treasury on scaling up net zero projects and upgrading energy systems. Given that, we may see more interest from the Treasury Select Committee into Net Zero.
So what…?
This article has shown the importance of select committees and the influence they have in shaping key policies on environmental issues. But how can businesses benefit from engaging? Key benefits include:
- Understanding the how and why to public policy management
- A chance to inform MPs on industry issues
- Keeping track of proposed regulatory changes
- Gaining a more collaborative policy making environment
Whilst committee chairs have been elected, the remaining committee members have not yet been allocated. In the coming weeks MPs will be nominated by their respective parties to join select committees. Traditionally select committees are made up of 11 members. Once the committees are fully established, Veolia will be actively engaging with the Chairs and committee members to help shape their understanding on some of the toughest challenges of achieving economic prosperity and environmental protection.
If you are interested in the work of our policy team and how they can support your business work with committees on the environmental challenges we all face, please get in touch: