The Government launched the China Audit in late 2024 in order to understand how the UK can respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses. However, the precise remit of the Audit has not yet been published.  

This inquiry will examine the process and outcomes of the China Audit, and how these support UK national interests. It will also explore the Government’s long-term approach to China, and how it intends to ensure consistency across Government, business and academia towards engagement with China.  

Read the call for evidence for more details about the inquiry

This inquiry will consider the accessibility of the physical parliamentary estate and of Parliamentary procedures, language and information. The committee’s work will be focused on finding new ways of ensuring the work of the House of Commons is inclusive and more easily understood.  

There is currently work in progress to consider the plan for the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster and other parts of the Parliamentary estate, which this inquiry will not cover. This inquiry will not consider individual cases or complaints.  

The committee’s work on accessibility will be covering: 

• Access to the Parliamentary estate and its services.  
• Access to the House of Commons procedures and processes, and barriers to participation. 
• Access to Parliamentary information for MPs and the public.

In light of recent debate and discussion about the efficacy of the UK’s employment figures, Committee members will explore whether issues with ONS’s Labour Force Survey are an anomaly, or whether issues with the organisation’s performance run deeper. In doing so, MPs will scrutinise some of ONS’s most important programmes: the Transformed Labour Force Survey, Integrated Data Service, and its reimagining of the traditional Census.

Read the call for evidence for more detail about the inquiry.

The Government has indicated that it wants to remove planning ‘blocks’ to the infrastructure development needed for its energy, industrial and growth strategies – but will these updates to the National Policy Statements fit the bill?  

Can they really help balance the thorny issues around the competing, legitimate aims and interests of national energy needs, local communities and the natural environment?   

A key example is the question of electricity cabling: it can cost up to ten times as much to bury power cables as to run them on pylons overhead. But strong community objections to pylons on mainly aesthetic grounds can hold up the necessary planning consents - time that national energy needs, targets and strategy now do not have. Where should the balance lie? Do the policy statement updates do enough to help planners decide? 

Alongside the Government’s consultation on the new policy statements the Committee is launching a quick call for evidence, seeking stakeholder views on the impact of the policy changes.  

Many stakeholders will be making detailed submissions to the Government consultation on the same short timeline: the Committee would welcome submission of the “highlights” or key elements of these more detailed responses to Government, to be considered by the Committee and synthesised into our own recommendations to the Government.   

On that basis, the Committee is seeking evidence submissions by 5pm on May 12th from all interested stakeholders on any or all of the following areas in the three updated National Policy Statements for energy infrastructure:  

Overarching National Policy Statement for energy (EN-1)

National Policy Statement for renewable energy infrastructure (EN-3)

National Policy Statement for electricity networks infrastructure (EN-5)

Future energy systems need to be renewable, inclusive, and resilient. Decentralised energy, where generation and governance occur closer to the point of use, is gaining traction as a way to achieve these goals. ‘Community energy’ is one approach within this broader shift, ensuring that people play a central role in decision-making and ownership. Whether through local control or collective governance, these systems give communities a direct stake in their energy future. More broadly, decentralised energy models, ranging from cooperative solar projects to independent microgrids, can accelerate the deployment of renewables and generate significant local socio-economic benefits. However, challenges such as financing constraints, technical capacity, and regulatory hurdles continue to limit their expansion.

This inquiry will explore locally led development in the context of energy systems. It will assess the UK Government’s role in addressing global energy poverty while promoting clean energy and strengthening local communities abroad. It will seek to understand how much Official Development Assistance (ODA) supports localised energy projects, how effective and transformative this funding is, and where gaps exist in financing, technology, and capacity-building. It is interested in understanding the value-for-money of financing localised energy projects, accounting for their full environmental and social benefits.

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PFAS chemicals do not degrade easily in the environment and for this reason they have often been referred to as ‘forever’ chemicals. Research has indicated that PFAS can lead to a range of health issues, such as decreased fertility, developmental delays in children, a higher risk of certain cancers and immune system suppression.  

Our inquiry will consider whether enough is being done to address the risks of PFAS in the UK and whether research institutions and the Environment Agency are equipped to detect and monitor their impact. It will also explore what regulatory mechanisms are in place across the UK and how they compare to other jurisdictions around the world, such as the European Union and the United States of America.