Select committees currently accepting written evidence (compiled 9 July 2025)

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:

*Please note that contributing to the Fan-Led Review of Music involves completing a survey rather than submitting written evidence.

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 recommendations it makes to the Government. Find out more about why to engage with Parliament here. And find more on engagement for impact here.  

What should I expect? All evidence will be read and taken into consideration, but you may not receive a direct response from us or the Committee. To stay informed, we encourage you to follow the progress on the respective committee / inquiry webpages.

More information: all inquiries currently accepting evidence are found here  
Guidance on submitting evidence to Commons select committees
Guidance on submitting evidence to Lords select committees

Apply for a fellowship at the Senedd

Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament is seeking an academic fellow to undertake a Family-Friendly and Inclusive Parliament Review (FFIPR) to look at how its practices, culture, and facilities can help to promote gender equality and inclusion, highlighting good practice and areas for improvement. This is a unique opportunity to contribute directly to institutional reform at the heart of Welsh democracy, while building on global standards and best practices.  
 
The Fellow will be involved in designing and conducting the review, and presenting the findings to the project Board. While the methodology will be agreed by the Board, it will involve collecting and analysing a range of quantitative and qualitative data.   

This may include analysing:  

  • Trends in the presence, position, and participation of Members,  
  • The organisation of parliamentary work, including policies, rules, procedures, and facilities but also culture and norms,  
  • How gender is considered in law-making and oversight work, and  
  • Public engagement activities and how different groups participate in the Senedd’s work.  

The review will need to be undertaken between July/August and November 2025 to meet the Board’s deadline of completing its work and publishing its final report by the end of December 2025.   
 
Fellows are normally funded through their own institutions (e.g. impact funding or research time) and the Senedd can make an additional financial contribution, to be agreed.  
 
If you are interested in this opportunity, please email the Senedd’s Knowledge Exchange Lead, Chloe Corbyn (chloe.corbyn@Senedd.wales) for a full project specification, and details on how to apply. The closing date for applications is 18 July 2025.   

Why should I engage? Fellowships offer the opportunity to work closely with a parliamentary team, supporting and informing its work, building capacity or helping evolve processes, or delivering a unique project.

More information: Find out more about the Senedd’s Academic Fellowship Scheme here. Read about Dr David Dallimore’s experience of being a Senedd Academic Fellow here.

Do you have expertise on children’s TV and video?

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee have recently launched an inquiry into children’s TV and video content and are interested in hearing from researchers with relevant expertise.

Public Service Media for children is facing considerable challenges, not least young audiences moving away from traditional channels to platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. The Committee wants to explore the best ways to support those who are making original TV and video for British kids, that tell British stories, reflects the life and experience growing up in Britain, and how that contributes to our culture, society and sense of identity. In addition, the inquiry wants to explore the impact on child development of both the content children are watching and the way in which they are watching it.

You can read more about the inquiry on the Committee’s webpages. If you have expertise in any of the areas of interest outlined by the Committee above, we encourage you to consider submitting written evidence to the inquiry. The deadline is 4 September 2025.

This one goes out to all the DJs

Music fans, artists, DJs, festival goers, and everyone that loves live and electronic music are being asked to share their views in a wide-ranging survey launched by the Fan-Led Review of Music. The survey aims to find out more about the music fan experience, and invites views on everything from gig ticket prices and selling practices through to venue safety and accessibility. It will also inform a series of public engagement sessions exploring these themes.

The Review, backed by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and chaired by Lord Brennan of Canton, will discuss ideas to protect the industry and ensure it works in the best interests of fans.

You can read more about the Fan-Led Review of Music on the Committee’s webpages. If you’re a music lover, and/or you work with fans in your research, please consider sharing and completing the survey. The deadline is 12 October 2025.

Still time to apply for a fellowship with POST (yes, still!)

There are two different types of PhD fellowships available this week:

**last chance to apply** Parliamentary fellowship (chemistry): A funded (3 month*) fellowship is open to Royal Society of Chemistry members** who are undertaking or have recently finished their PhD study. The successful applicant will be based in the UK Parliament, supporting its use of research evidence by preparing briefing material for parliamentarians on emerging science topics.

*The fellowship can be carried out full-time for 13 weeks or part-time over a longer period. The start date will fall within the period between January 2026 and October 2026.
** Potential applicants who are not already a member of the RSC can apply to join prior to submitting their fellowship application.

UKRI policy internships: Funded placements are available to current or recent PhD students to intern at UK Parliament within POST, a select committee, or the House of Commons or House of Lords Libraries. An online information session will be held on Thursday 3 July for prospective applicants. Email post@parliament.uk to book to attend the information session.

These internships are part of the wider UKRI scheme: view the full range of hosts for the Policy Internships scheme – it includes parliamentary teams, government departments and non-governmental bodies, learned societies and other organisations. Look through the detailed information about all the UKRI Policy Internships. Or access more information on the internships based in POST. Information on the funding arrangements is in the applicant guidance (Annex A).

A very stately affair

Well done to anyone who guessed that the President of the French Republic, His Excellency Emmanuel Macron was coming to visit Parliament. On 8 July, as part of his state visit to the UK, the President Macron addressed Members of both Houses in the Royal Gallery in the House of Lords.
 
This Commons Library briefing explains that foreign monarchs, presidents or prime ministers are invited to visit King Charles III on an “inbound” state visit on the advice of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the Government. However, not all state visits involve a speech at Parliament. According to the Hansard Society, ‘the decision as to whether to issue an invitation [to address Parliament] rests formally with Parliament, in the shape of the Speakers of the two Houses’. Indeed, back in 2017, ‘Speaker Bercow told the House of Commons he was “strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall” and “would not wish to issue an invitation” to President Trump to speak in the Royal Gallery’ (Commons Library, 2025).

So what?
 
While state visits may also be of interest to any International Affairs buffs, we’d like to draw your attention to an important piece of wisdom we can draw from this example:

Parliament =/= Government.

On the surface, this may seem obvious, but there are some important distinctions for researchers. Here are some key differences to remember:

  1. While the Government drafts most legislation (though not all, as you’ll recall from our PMBs fact last week!), Parliament is responsible for scrutinising, amending and passing draft legislation (bills) into law. If you think you have research insights which could enhance debates on a bill, you could share these with interested MPs and Members of the House of Lords ahead of its second reading.
  2. Government departments are responsible for implementing legislation and making policy decisions, and Parliament’s role is to scrutinise the effectiveness of legislation, decision-making and policies and hold the government to account. This is often done through select committee inquiries, so keep an eye on this round-up for any opportunities to submit written evidence to an inquiry and advice on how to do so.
  3. Parliament represents the interests of the people. Your MP is your representative in Parliament and you can contact them about raising an issue in Parliament, pressing the Government for action or supporting or opposing a particular Government policy. You can find information on contacting MPs and Members of the House of Lords on the Parliament website.

Find out more