The Government are expected to reply to the recommendations in a select committee report within two months of publication. This deadline is not always met.
Responses tend to concentrate on the conclusions drawn, and recommendations made, rather than on the more general narrative or argument.
Unless the department publishes the response itself, the committee may publish it as a special report, or as a substantive report if the committee chooses to comment on the response. Committees may also choose not to publish a response or to seek a further response if they are not satisfied.
After publication, committees find it effective, in increasing the impact of their work, to check the progress the Government has made on implementing actions agreed in their response. There are a variety of ways in which committees can do this, including by writing to the Government or holding another oral evidence session:
• set up a sub-committee (smaller committees made up of some of the committee's members) • Meet and work with other select committees