We will ask whether those requirements are observed with sufficient rigour by Ministers. Additionally, we will consider the appropriate balance in deciding between a written or oral statement.

Read the call for evidence for more detail about the inquiry.

The Education Committee will look under the bonnet at what is going on. In a focused single evidence session on 8 April, the Committee examined the perfect storm bearing down on institutions, including fluctuations in domestic and international student numbers, pension contributions, and the rate of tuition fees. 

On 13 May the Committee decided it wished to pursue a series of mini-inquiries relating to higher education. It was decided that the first mini-inquiry would concentrate on the urgent issues of the threat of insolvency in the higher education sector and international students.

Parliament is an important forum for discussion of matters of public interest and national importance, and MPs should have the ability to raise, discuss and resolve such matters swiftly and effectively when they emerge. The courts, meanwhile, should also be reassured that their important work is able to proceed effectively to ensure the fair and swift administration of justice.

This inquiry will look at whether the current resolution, agreed by the House of Commons in 2001, continues to strike the appropriate balance.

Progress on improving healthy life expectancy in England has stalled and people are spending longer living with ill health in their older years. Physical activity can help prevent ill health, but activity levels in England are decreasing and are lowest among older people. A small increase in activity by an older person can be substantially beneficial in improving health and reducing or delaying the development of multiple long-term health conditions.  

This inquiry will focus on the ways that physical activity can prevent and reduce ill health, pushing it further into older age. The Committee will also explore how increasing physical activity levels could have an impact on reducing the gap in healthy life expectancy between older people in the most and least deprived regions.  

Call for evidence closed at 23:59pm on Thursday 7 August 2025. 

The Government has set out plans to deliver a decade of renewal in the provision of social and affordable homes, including a “transformational” and “lasting change in the safety and quality of homes.” Our inquiry will be looking at the prevalence of housing hazards, such as damp, mould and overcrowding, in social housing, the private rented sector and temporary accommodation. We will also be looking at the quality of new-build homes, in the context of the Government’s target to build 1.5m new homes in this Parliament.

Our inquiry will scrutinise how effective the Government’s policies to improve housing conditions are likely to be and whether further reforms are needed. In particular, following the Government’s social and affordable housing announcement on Wednesday 2 July, we will assess whether the Government’s proposed reforms to the Decent Homes Standard, and the application of Awaab’s Law, will improve conditions in social housing and the private rented sector and whether these reforms will impact housing supply.

We are also interested in the role technology can play in helping to monitor and improve the condition of homes.

In an increasingly digital world, several countries have begun to develop digital ID systems to support functions like identification, proof of residence and facilitating access to government services.

There have been calls for the UK to adopt digital ID, with those arguing for its introduction saying it would have benefits like improving citizens’ access to services and supporting more effective enforcement of immigration rules.

The Government has already taken steps to introduce some digital forms of ID. For example, the Home Office has introduced eVisas, while the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is leading the introduction of digital driver’s licences.

This inquiry will examine what benefits the introduction of new digital forms of ID could bring for reducing crime and managing migration. It will explore concerns about privacy and security as well as the practical challenges to realising the potential benefits of digital ID.

Trust in government and the political system more widely is essential to the proper functioning and prosperity of a democratic state. Concerns with ethical standards are not new, however controversy surrounding the propriety of conduct of those in public life was a particularly prominent part of political life during the last parliament. This has raised questions as to whether the current system of ethical standards regulation is sufficient or even fit for purpose.

Read the call for evidence for more detail about the inquiry.

As part of this work, the Committee will scrutinise the detail and implementation of three recent developments: the India Free Trade Agreement; the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal; and the outcomes agreed following the recent UK-EU Summit.

The Committee is interested in finding out how these agreements and frameworks will affect people and businesses across the UK, and the likely economic, social, environmental and other impacts. The Committee is also interested in priorities for the UK’s ongoing negotiations with the US and EU.

It will also explore issues relating to parental control of online content, the potential positive and negative effects of how children watch TV and video content on their health and development, and wider issues relating to the sector’s contribution to the economy and its importance to the UK’s cultural identity.