The most important function of the General Committees is to consider proposed legislation, mainly Public Bills in detail. This Committee is unique to the House of Commons and it fastens the system of processing the Bills. The Committees also reveal the political formation of the House. Therefore, the government always has the majority.
Committee on Bills
For each and every Bill that goes through the Parliament, a Public or a Private Bill Committee is appointed. Depending upon the importance, A bill might take time from a few minutes to a few months. The Lords either meet as a whole House or as a Grand Committee away from the chamber. The Grand Committee functions in the same way as a Committee of a whole House does. However, the motions must be passed unanimously because even a single objection might stop an amendment to a Bill.
Naming Public Bill Committees
A Public Bill Committee is usually named after the Bills with which it is working.
How they work
There is a Chairman of each Committee and they debate Bills like they do in the common chambers. They have the power to take written and oral inputs and feedbacks from officials and experts outside the Parliament. This is to enrich the Committee with a wide cross section of viewpoints and information for decision making. The minimum number of Members in a Committee has to be 10 while the maximum may extend upto 50. The ratio of members in a Public Bill Committee reflects the political parties’ power in the House of Commons.
Reports
It is the duty of the Public Bill Committee to scrutiny each clause of a Bill in detail. Once the scrutiny is over and after the necessary changes or amendments are made, the Bill is sent to the House of Commons, where further debates are being held on it. The printed Bill alongwith all the amendments made are publicly available in printed and online formats. Inspite of the fact that Lords Do not meet in Public Bill Committees, they have a ‘report stage’ to allow the further consideration of Bills
Other General Committees
If required, Additional General Committees are made in order to discuss urgent matters
