Select committees currently accepting written evidence (compiled 11 December 2024) 

Please click the title of any inquiry listed below to be taken to a summary of that inquiry and the full call for evidence. Remember that you don’t have to answer every question posed in each call for evidence.

New calls for evidence launched since 11 December 2024:

All other inquiries currently accepting written evidence:

Why should I engage? Submitting evidence to a select committee can lead to further engagement, such as an invitation to give oral evidence. Your submission will be published on the Committee webpage. Your insights may inform the Committee’s conclusions or the recommendations it makes to the Government. Find out more about why to engage with Parliament. You can also read more on engagement for impact.

More information: Explore all select committee inquiries currently open for submissions of written evidence. 

Resources: Find guidance on submitting evidence to select committees on the KEU’s ‘how to guides’ page. Watch our 30 minute online training session “How to work with select committees”

Get in touch (quickly!) if climate adaptation and mitigation measures for water management floats your boat!

Are you an expert, or do you have research on climate adaptation and mitigation measures for water management?

The KEU is seeking five researchers with expertise in the above topic to take part in a round table informing the Water Bill in January. The round table will allow researchers to engage on the bill and share evidence, information and advice with the sponsoring MP.

To express interest in taking part in the round table, or to highlight your research in the area of climate adaptation and mitigation for water management (or more generally in other areas of the Water Bill), please complete this short form.

Through the form you will introduce yourself to the MP and their team, provide your contact details and a link to your university staff profile page (or similar), and set out (in 250 words) where your expertise and research evidence lies in relation to the Water Bill generally, or more specifically within climate adaptation and mitigation measures for water management.

The date for the round table has not yet been set but we anticipate it will take place in mid to late January. The date will be communicated directly to the respondents that the MP selects to take part. We understand that not everyone approached will be available on the selected date so please know that expressing interest in the round table through the form does not commit you to attend. Similarly, we understand that some respondents may wish to share their research and expertise but not take part in the round table – this is fine – please do complete the form too. 

The deadline to express your interest through the form is Friday 27 December 2024. 
We expect to send invitations to the round table to the selected respondents from 8 January 2025 onwards, however, timescales are subject to change.  

Why should I engage? Taking part in a round table is an excellent way to share your expertise and research evidence to help shape legislation. It can also help you to build relationships with parliamentarians and parliamentary staff who have an interest or specialism in your research area and lead to future engagement. Responding to a call for experts highlights you as a researcher in this field and you may be contacted and asked to share your expertise if it fits with further parliamentary business in the future. 

More information:

Meet Parliament’s Thematic Research Leads: Dr Jane Parry (Business, Economics and Trade)

This week we’re featuring Dr Jane Parry, the Thematic Research Lead for Business, Economics and Trade.

Dr Jane Parry is the Associate Professor of Work and Employment at the University of Southampton Business School. Her research addresses the changing ways of working and inequalities in labour markets and organisations. Jane has managed policy-facing projects for a range of funding bodies and government departments for the past two decades, raising over £1.5 million in research revenue. She is on the editorial board of New Technology, Work and Employment, a member of the ESRC Peer Review College, and a former POST (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology) Parliamentary Academic Fellow. Jane led the cross-institutional UKRI/ESRC Work after Lockdown research, which explored organisational learning around pandemic-driven working from home, and, more recently, research for Acas on flexible work in the post-pandemic landscape to inform their revised Code of Practice. She is currently co-investigator on a British Academy project on female entrepreneurs’ everyday working practices in South Asia. Recently, she co-edited Sociology, Work and Organisations: A Global Context, and has contributed to future of work debates on Radio 4 and BBC programmes, written for The Guardian, and is a regular contributor to The Conversation.

As TRL for Business, Economics and Trade Jane is based within the Economic Policy and Statistics section of parliament’s Research and Information service. In the three months since she joined parliament Jane has produced parliament’s business & economics horizon scans, worked on the House of Commons Library briefing paper for the second reading of the Employment Rights Bill, and is now developing a companion piece on Good Work in the Employment Rights Bill. She works with the Work and Pensions, Business and Trade, and Women and Equalities select committees to support their engagement with researchers for future inquiries, and with parliament’s human resources team to inform parliament’s own hybrid working strategy. Most recently Jane delivered a seminar highlighting the research on flexible working to a House of Commons library team and is scoping a seminar series addressing issues relating to the Employment Rights Bill.

Jane is keen to hear about Business, Economics and Trade research which may be of interest to parliament. If you would like to introduce yourself and your research to Jane, please fill out this form. Jane may not be able to respond to all introductions. However, please know your contact has been received and is valued. Jane will note your expertise area and store your contact details in line with our privacy policy ready to get in touch when parliament’s business touches upon your research topic.

Thank you to everyone who has already introduced themselves or their research to Jane. If you filled out the form we shared previously, there is no need to resubmit your details.

Why should I engage? Thematic Research Leads (TRLs) are prestigious and influential roles, designed in partnership with UKRI to facilitate and enhance the use of research evidence and expertise in parliament through effective knowledge exchange and collaboration. Introducing yourself to the new TRLs is a great opportunity to be involved in their work, ensure they’re aware of your expertise, and a way for parliamentarians and other parliamentary research users to access your research.

More information: Find out more about our Thematic Research Lead programme. Read about the work of our first cohort of TRLs:

Reminders: Last chance to get involved!

These opportunities remain open:

Whitaker takes on Parliament: 
From Backbench to Front Page – The Power of Private Members’ Bills  

We’re very pleased to welcome back our celebrity fact writer, Professor Rick Whitaker, this week to share how his passion for procedure can help researchers engage with Private Members’ Bills (PMB).  

A PMB is a proposal for legislation introduced by a parliamentarian who is not a government minister. They are a way for backbenchers to propose new laws or address specific issues that are not part of the government’s agenda. 

PMBs offer an opportunity for parliamentarians to engage with public concerns by amending existing laws or introducing new policy. However, they face significant challenges, including limited parliamentary time and potential opposition from the government. 

There are different types of PMBs, such as Ballot Bills, Ten-Minute Rule Bills, and Presentation Bills, each with its own specific procedures and chances of success. While a minority of PMBs become law, they can still play a valuable role in raising awareness, influencing government policy, and shaping public debate. 

Notable, PMBs are the Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act 1965, Protection of Children Act 1978, Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995, and one that is currently passing through parliament is the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2024. 

So what? 

Researchers can contribute to the legislative process by engaging with Private Members’ Bills (PMBs). By sharing their expertise and research findings, they can inform policy decisions and influence the development of proposed new laws. 

PMBs go through the same stages as government bills (first and second readings, committee stage, report and third reading, in both houses), however, the rules governing their passage through this process and the days (and limited time) on which they are considered differ from those applying to government legislation.  

Thirteen Fridays are normally set aside in each parliamentary session for PMBs to be considered. If a PMB proceeds past the second reading on one of these Fridays, it moves to a public bill committee for more detailed consideration. Only one PMB can be considered in committee at any one time, unless the government intervenes to change this. Bills that make it through committee then return to the Commons chamber for a report stage. They take precedence over any other PMBs’ second readings (once the eighth PMB Friday has been reached). The third reading follows and next the bill goes to the House of Lords, where the convention is that it will not be amended. This is a researcher’s hint that the bill may become law. If the Lords do make changes, these are considered on a PMB Friday and again take precedence over other PMBs at earlier stages in the legislative process.

What does this mean for researchers with an interest in the current legislation? 

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed through its second reading on 29 November 2024. It now moves to committee stage. Public bill committees normally do not take evidence for PMBs, however, a motion has been passed allowing the committee for this bill, to ‘call for persons, papers and records’. The committee will likely want to take evidence from a range of interested parties, providing opportunities for researchers with relevant expertise. Public bill committees do not normally issue a call for evidence in the same way a select committee does. Therefore, ensuring your expertise, interest in engaging with policy, and links to relevant research evidence is visible to web searches will be helpful to the committee should they call for expertise. Another way to get noticed is to blog or write for media on the topic. The date for the bill’s first public bill committee meeting is yet to be fixed at the time of writing.  

If your expertise isn’t within the above field take heart as there are lots of other PMBs out there. Researchers may find it easier to influence a PMB than a government bill. This is because a PMB provides an opportunity to engage directly with the backbench member that introduces the bill, to contribute research insights directly to the member, and to build a lasting relationship and conversations on the topic of shared interest that can outlive the bill itself. 

More information:

With thanks to Professor Rick Whitaker, from the University of Leicester, for this guest blog. Rick’s research interests are legislatures and political parties. He is a current Parliamentary Academic Fellow and a former Thematic Research Lead at the UK Parliament.