70
PARLIAMENTARY DICTIONARY
COMMITTEE, SELECT-continued
day each week. The passing of such a resolution does not pre- clude the committee at any time from altering the date of the next meeting. Where it is inconvenient to fix the date of the next meeting this is sometimes left to the chairman. This, however, is, strictly speaking, irregular and inay be done only with the unanimous consent of the members. A select committee may meet or continue to sit after the House has met and even after it has risen. Select committees of the House of Lords can sit even on days when the House is not sitting, but Commons select committees cannot do so without express authority. A select committee cannot continue to sit after Parliament is prorogued.
Place of Meeting. The meetings of a select committee are usually held in one of the committee rooms within the Palace of Westminster. If a committee wishes to meet beyond the precincts of Parliament, it must obtain leave to do so, unless it has been previously authorised to "adjourn from piace to place '.
It was formerly questioned whether the House could authorise a committee to meet outside the United Kingdom. But from 1966 onwards the House has either formally given leave to com- mittees and their sub-committees to hold meetings abroad, or has authorised special provision in the annual Estimates to meet the expenses involved.
Quorum. A Commons select committee cannot proceed to business unless a quorum of the members is present, and if after the committee has proceeded to business the number of members present falls below the quorum it is the duty of the committee clerk to draw the attention of the chairman to the act, where- upon the chairman must either suspend the proceedings till a quorum. is present or adjourn the committee to a future time. The quorum of a committee is fixed by the House either when it appoints the committee or when it chooses the members. If no quorum is fixed, the committee cannot function unless all the members are present.
The quorum of a select committee of the House of Lords is three. Election of Chairman. The first proceeding of a Commons committee is to elect a chairman. Usually one member only is proposed and he is called to the chair with the general consent of the members present. Should more than one member be pro- posed as chairman the procedure is similar to the procedure in the House when there is a contest for the Speakership, the committee clerk putting the question and, if necessary, directing the com- mittee to divide. If the chairman is absent froin any meeting, another member is elected chairman pro tempore. A select committee may not appoint a deputy chairman.
A select committee of the House of Lords is usually given power to appoint its chairman. When a committee is not invested with this power, the Chairman of Committees (whether he has