New Lords committee reports
8 December 2022 (updated on 8 December 2022)
Reports by three House of Lords special investigative committees are out now. The reports set out findings and recommendations following investigations into fraud, the Children and Families Act 2014 and adult social care.
Three House of Lords special investigative committees have published reports on their investigations:
- Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud Act Committee
- Children and Families Act 2014 Committee
- Adult Social Care Committee
Lords investigative work
Committees are smaller groups of members doing subject-focused work away from the chamber. In addition to its permanent committees, the House of Lords sets up special investigative committees, one-off committees for each session, to look into a particular subject. They may also examine particular Acts to see if they are working effectively since becoming law.
Lords experience
Just as with the House's work in the chamber, members of the Lords bring their professional knowledge and experience to House of Lords committee work.
Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud Act Committee
The House of Lords Fraud Act Committee found that fraud accounts for 41% of all crime in England and Wales and around 80% is cyber enabled. On 14 November 2022, the committee published its report pressing the government for action, including slowing down speeds of payments and prosecuting companies for failure to prevent fraud.
Children and Families Act 2014 Committee
The House of Lords Children and Families Act 2014 Committee found that too much of the legislation has sat on the shelf and ultimately failed in meaningfully improving the lives of children and young people. The committee published its report on Tuesday 6 December 2022, pressing the government to finally realise its ambitions set out in the Act across adoption, family justice and employment rights.
Chair of the committee, Baroness Tyler of Enfield, said:
'The welfare of children and young people should be the government's paramount concern when developing policies in this area. We urge them not to allow another eight years to pass before they make the improvements which are so demonstrably necessary.'
Adult Social Care Committee
The Lords Adult Social Care committee calls for action from the government to prioritise and reform the care sector, in its report out on Thursday 8 December. It found the invisibility of the adult social care sector is increasingly damaging to both those who draw on care and who provide unpaid care at a time of increasing need, rising costs and a shrinking workforce.
Adult social care affects the lives of over 10 million people in England, yet local government funding is not keeping pace with demographic pressures and there are over 165,000 vacancies in the workforce. The committee calls for greater choice and control for disabled adults and older people and a better deal for unpaid carers.
Chair of the committee, Baroness Andrews, said:
'Our recommendations are intended to bring those who draw on and provide unpaid care into the daylight and that starts with changing the perceptions around care, providing the realistic financial and workforce strategies that are long overdue, and planning for a system responsive to present needs and resilient for the future.'
Further information
- Find out more about House of Lords committees
- Follow the House of Lords on social media
Image: Copyright House of Lords 2022 / Photography by Roger Harris