PARLIAMENTARY
THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT
75. The Select Committee on Overseas Development looks at Government policy and actions across the whole field of overseas development; it does not confine itself purely to aid matters. The Committee takes written and oral evidence from experts outside government, such as voluntary organisations and private sector interests, as well as from ODM and other Whitehall Departments. The assembling of this evidence sometimes requires members of the Committee to undertake short visits to developing countries during 1976 members of the Committee visited the
Caribbean.
76. From time to time, the Committee publishes the evidence it has taken, and makes Recommendations based upon that evidence. These are then examined by ODM and other interested Departments, and the Government replies formally to the Recommendations in the form of a Memorandum from the relevant
Minister or a White Paper.
77.
The Committee's activities mean that government policy and its implementation are subject to a careful scrutiny; ODM, and other Departments, are obliged to think hard about what they are doing and although the Government does not always accept all the recommendations of this, or any other, Select Committee, ODM sees the Committee as performing a most useful role, provoking debate about development questions and putting forward interesting suggestions about how our policies and practices could be improved.
78. Though a Select Committee may hold sessions in private, the present practice of this Committee is to hold public hearings. There are currently eight members, four from each of the major political parties.
79. The Committee's most recent reports (along with the Government's replies) are listed below:
/i.
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