If the bill is subject to a programme order, a public bill committee’s first job is to consider its programme of meetings. The Speaker appoints a programming sub-committee to make a proposal about this.
A programming sub-committee has seven MPs, drawn from the Government and Opposition sides of the committee. It usually includes the minister, shadow minister and whips. The programming sub-committee will make a proposal to the committee about:
- when the committee will meet
- what time its final meeting will end (there will probably already be a programme order setting out what date it should end on)
- who it should hear oral evidence from
- what order the committee should consider the clauses of the bill in
The committee can amend and vote on this proposal as its first item of business.