Lords committee hears from Chair of the Public Accounts Committee and former Ofcom Chair
Friday 17 November 2023
The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee will hear from Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Dame Patricia Hodgson (former Ofcom Chair) and John Penrose MP, as it continues its inquiry into UK regulators.
The session will run from 10.30am on Tuesday 21 November and can be followed live on Parliament TV or in person in Committee Room 2, Palace of Westminster.
At 10.30am the Committee will hear from:
- Dame Patricia Hodgson, Deputy Chair, Policy Exchange and former Chair, Ofcom;
- John Penrose MP.
Possible questions include:
- is it clear what role regulators are being asked to play and why they make the decisions that they do?
- to what extent are regulators being expected to address political or distributional decisions?
- is there a case for a new independent body to help Parliament scrutinise regulators?
- do regulators engage sufficiently with consumers?
At 11:30am, the Committee will hear from:
- Dame Meg Hillier MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee.
Possible questions include:
- what has been your experience of overseeing the work of regulators as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee?
- what impact can Parliament and the Government have on regulators through scrutiny and accountability?
- how independent are the UK’s major regulators, and to what extent does this depend on how they are resourced and how their appointments are made?
- do regulators have the ability to candidly and publicly speak truth to power, even when their assessments may be inconvenient for the Government?
The committee is encouraging interested individuals and organisations to submit evidence to the inquiry until Friday 1 December.
