Ministers and civil servants are not being properly scrutinised by parliament because of delays in setting up select committees, senior MPs have claimed.
Despite crucial Brexit policy passing through the Commons and the possibility of conflict in the Middle East, chairs of four committees have said they have not yet been given any indication by Boris Johnson’s government when they will be able to sit again.
The prime minister and his close adviser Dominic Cummings have previously been accused of avoiding appearances before MPs on these committees.
Since 2010, the members of most of the Commons committees are chosen by a system of internal party elections. But it is up to the leader of the house, Jacob Rees-Mogg, working with whips from both sides, to settle on a timetable for those elections.
Parliamentary sources have claimed that the government is delaying the process because of planned departmental mergers which may be postponed.
Senior MPs said they have not yet received any indication that the government will set elections to the committees by next month, as was hoped.
Meg Hillier, the chair of the powerful public accounts committee which scrutinises government spending, said the government’s big majority meant scrutiny was vital.
“We are seeing big promises on policy and projects and need to challenge how realistic they are,” she said. “On the most optimistic plan, committees will not have met for four months on the current timetable. We need to speed up the process.
“Possible changes to government departments should not be an excuse for delay,” she said.
Clive Betts, the chair of the housing, communities and local government committee, said; “I think it is essential that at the beginning of a new government, we are given the means to hold them to account. They should be up and running within a few weeks.”
Sir Bob Neill, the Conservative chair of the justice committee, said he was unaware of any delays, but it would “not be at all satisfactory” if the committees were not established by February. “There is a lot of scrutiny work to be getting on with,” he added.
Chris Bryant, the senior Labour MP for Rhondda, urged the Commons Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, on Tuesday to intervene to speed up the process or risk a lack of accountability until April.
“Is there anything in your power Mr Speaker that you can do to make sure that this process is expedited so that the proper duties of scrutiny can be done by this House?” he said. Hoyle replied that he would help in any way he could.
Johnson was accused of avoiding being questioned by the liaison committee on three occasions last year, and is still yet to appear before the committee of senior MPs.
He was also accused of avoiding prime minister’s questions in the run-up to the election, attending just once from July to November.
Cummings was found in contempt of parliament in March after failing to appear before the House of Commons committee of privileges. He claimed he had offered to give evidence but was rebuffed.
A spokesperson for Rees-Mogg said there had been a two-week delay in establishing the committees but that it would not take until Easter to set them up.
“Usual discussions are taking place at the start of a new parliament in order to establish select committees as soon as practicable and in line with established procedures. The House has agreed a short extension to the timetable owing to the timing of the state opening and immediate Christmas recess,” the spokesperson said.
