Select company
The appearance of Rupert Murdoch before the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee confirmed that some of the best action in parliament is now before select committees, not in the chamber.
— Select committees were around in the 18th century, when they were convened for particular purposes. An early one, in 1763, examined ‘the state of private madhouses’. They fell into disuse in the 20th century, when their work was taken over by inquiries made up of non-MPs.
— The idea of permanent committees of MPs to examine the work of the government dates from 1966, when Richard Crossman, then leader of the House of Commons, set up two: one into agriculture and one into science and technology.
— The name ‘select committee’ was revived when the current system of committees based on the work of each government department was established in 1979.
Who’s calling?
According to IBM, the call centre industry in the Philippines has overtaken that in India.
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