The Home Affairs Select Committee is a Committee of the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 in the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

.

Remit

The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select Committees related to government departments: its terms of reference are to examine "the expenditure, administration and policy of the Home Office

Home Office

The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...

 and its associated public bodies".

The Committee chooses its own subjects of inquiry, within the overall terms of reference. It invites written evidence from interested parties and holds public evidence sessions, usually in committee rooms at the House of Commons, although it does have the power to meet away from Westminster.

At the end of each inquiry, the Committee will normally agree a Report based on the evidence received. Such Reports are published and made available on the internet. Reports usually contain recommendations to the Government and other bodies. The Government by convention responds to reports within about two months of publication. These responses are also published.

Inquiries

The Committee can examine any area of work related to the Home Office and its associated public bodies, such as HM Prison Service and United Kingdom Passport Agency.

Recent inquiries have focused on

• Rehabilitation of prison
  Prison
  A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
  
  ers
• Sexual Offences Act 2003
• Immigration Control
• Terrorism
  Terrorism
  Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
  
  
• Sentencing for Robbery
  Robbery
  Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
  
  
• Corporate manslaughter
• The News International phone hacking scandal

Membership

As of 2 November 2010, the members of the committee are as follows:

Member		Party	Constituency
	Keith Vaz Keith Vaz Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, known as Keith Vaz, was born 26 November 1956 in Aden, Yemen.Keith Vaz is a British Labour Party politician and a Member of Parliament for Leicester East, He is the longest serving Asian MP and has been the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee since July...  MP (Chair)	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...	Leicester East Leicester East (UK Parliament constituency) - Elections in the 2000s :In 2005 this seat bucked the national trend as there was a swing to Labour whereas the national swing was 2.5% to the Conservatives.- Elections in the 1990s :- Elections in the 1970s :...
	Nicola Blackwood Nicola Blackwood Nicola Claire Blackwood is a Conservative Party politician. She was elected as Member of Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon in the 2010 election.-Political career:...  MP	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...	Oxford West and Abingdon
	James Clappison James Clappison William James Clappison, commonly known as James Clappison, British barrister and Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Hertsmere, and serves as Vice Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel group.-Personal life:The son of a Yorkshire farmer, James Clappison was...  MP	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...	Hertsmere Hertsmere (UK Parliament constituency) -Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...
	Lorraine Fullbrook Lorraine Fullbrook Lorraine Fullbrook is the Conservative MP for South Ribble, first elected in 2010.Mrs Fullbrook was formerly the Conservative Leader of Hart Council in Hampshire, stepping down in 2004 after being selecting as parliamentary candidate for the South Ribble constituency in north-west England...  MP	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...	South Ribble South Ribble (UK Parliament constituency) South Ribble is a county constituency in Lancashire, England represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
	Dr Julian Huppert Julian Huppert Julian Leon Huppert is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom and Member of Parliament for Cambridge since 2010...  MP	Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...	Cambridge Cambridge (UK Parliament constituency) Cambridge is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....
	Steve McCabe Steve McCabe (politician) Stephen James McCabe is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hall Green from 1997 to 2010, when he was elected for Birmingham Selly Oak.-Early life:...  MP	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...	Birmingham Selly Oak
	Rt Hon Alun Michael Alun Michael Alun Edward Michael is a British Labour Co-operative politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Cardiff South and Penarth since 1987. He was formerly First Minister of Wales and leader of the Welsh Labour Party from 1999 to 2000.-Education:Michael was born at Bryngwran Anglesey, son of...  MP	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...  Co-op Co-operative Party The Co-operative Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom committed to supporting and representing co-operative principles. The party does not put up separate candidates for any UK election itself. Instead, Co-operative candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party as "Labour...	Cardiff South and Penarth
	Bridget Phillipson Bridget Phillipson Bridget Maeve Phillipson is a British Labour Party politician who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South.- Early life :...  MP	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...	Houghton and Sunderland South Houghton and Sunderland South (UK Parliament constituency) Houghton and Sunderland South is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 2010, it has elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
	Mark Reckless Mark Reckless Mark John Reckless is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for Rochester and Strood, elected at the 2010 general election....  MP	Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...	Rochester and Strood
	David Winnick David Winnick David Julian Winnick is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Walsall North since 1979....  MP	Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...	Walsall North

Source: Home Affairs Committee

Changes

Occasionally, the House of Commons orders changes to be made in terms of membership of select committees, as proposed by the Committee of Selection Such changes are shown below.

Date	Outgoing Member & Party		Constituency	→	New Member & Party		Constituency	Source
2 November 2010		Mary Macleod Mary Macleod Mary Macleod is a British Conservative Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Brentford and Isleworth since the 2010 general election....  MP (Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... )	Brentford and Isleworth	→		James Clappison James Clappison William James Clappison, commonly known as James Clappison, British barrister and Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Hertsmere, and serves as Vice Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel group.-Personal life:The son of a Yorkshire farmer, James Clappison was...  MP (Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... )	Hertsmere Hertsmere (UK Parliament constituency) -Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:- Notes and references :...	Hansard
14 February 2011		Aidan Burley Aidan Burley Aidan Burley is a British Conservative Party politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Cannock Chase in 2010.-Early life:...  MP (Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... )	Cannock Chase Cannock Chase (UK Parliament constituency) -Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-Notes and references:...	→		Michael Ellis Michael Ellis (British politician) Michael Tyrone Ellis is a British Conservative Party politician. Since 2010 he is the MP for the Northampton North constituency.- Background :...  MP (Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... )	Northampton North Northampton North (UK Parliament constituency) Northampton North is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It was created before the election of February 1974 when the old constituency of Northampton...	Hansard

External links

• Home Affairs Committee