14.
Erskine May (page 697) indicates that
"Select Committees may often choose to keep in reserve their power formally to send for witnesses, and simply issue by the Clerk an informal invitation to give evidence. In extending such invitations to Government Departments, the Committee will
usually rely on the co-operation of the Department in the selection of witnesses and will not normally summon individual
officers. Nevertheless, when a Select Committee has power to
send for persons, that power is unqualified, except to the extent that it conflicts with the privileges of the Crown and of the members of the House of Lords, or with the rights of the
House of Commons".
The extent of this power has been reaffirmed on several occasions by different Select Committees, one of which expressed "surprise" that "certain Departments" seemed unaware of the powers of Select
Committees in this respect.
15. It was suggested in paragraph 12 above that a Select Committee could decide to hold its sessions in a dependent territory, and take
evidence from witnesses there. It would also seem to follow from the passages in Erskine May, and from the view taken by the Clerks of the meaning of the "jurisdiction of Parliament", that a Committee would have power to summon to a hearing in the UK, officials involved in the "expenditure, administration and policy" of the dependent territories if the work of such officials fell within the
terms of reference of the Committee. The Cabinet Office Memorandum certainly accepts that officials can be called from overseas to give evidence to a Committee in Westminster. Paragraph 10 states that
"If a Committee insisted on a particular official appearing
before them whether serving in the UK or overseas they
could issue a formal order for his attendance. In such an
event, the official would have to appear before the Committee. In all circumstances, the official would remain subject to ministerial instructions as to how to answer questions".
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