The select committee was established in 1979 as the Treasury and Civil Service Committee.[2] Since 2010, the Treasury Committee has taken on new powers, including the right to veto appointments to the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, and has forced the Financial Services Authority to publish a detailed report into its handling of the collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland.[3]
The select committee has been described as an influential one within British politics.[4][5][1] In 2016, the committee was described as among the three most powerful select committees in the House of Commons, along with the Public Accounts Committee and the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.[6]
Activities
Valuation Office Agency (VOA) Inquiry
On 1 February 2019, the Treasury Committee launched an inquiry looking into the impact of business rates and any unfairness in the system of rateable valuation operated by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). The inquiry heard evidence from many businesses and trade organisations.[7] The findings of this inquiry outlined that the service was broken and public confidence had been eroded. In its reply to the inquiry, February 2020, the Government promised to make changes to business rates as part of a fundamental review of the VOA.[8]
From June 2010 chairs of select committees have been directly elected by a secret ballot of the whole House of Commons using the alternative vote system. Candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated and their votes redistributed until one remaining candidate has more than half of valid votes.[23] Elections are held at the beginning of a parliament or in the event of a vacancy.[24]
^"Business without Debate Volume 742: debated on Monday 11 December 2023". hansard.parliament.uk. UK Hansard. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023. That Sir James Duddridge and Dame Andrea Leadsom be discharged from the Treasury Committee and Dr Thérèse Coffey and Stephen Hammond be added.—(Sir Bill Wiggin, on behalf of the Committee of Selection.)
^Treasury Select Committee (29 January 2020). "Committee Chair Election Results 2020"(PDF). House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Archived(PDF) from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
^Treasury Select Committee (12 July 2017). "Committee Chair Election Results"(PDF). House of Commons of the United Kingdom 2017. Archived(PDF) from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
^Treasury Select Committee (17 June 2015). "Committee Chair Election Results 2015"(PDF). House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Archived(PDF) from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
^Treasury Select Committee (9 June 2010). "Committee Chair Election Results 2010"(PDF). House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Archived(PDF) from the original on 5 January 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
