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The Social Affairs Committee

The Social Affairs Committee addresses social issues, including the provision of aid and support for people with functional impairments, and disadvantaged and socially excluded children, adolescents and adults as well as family law, including marriage, divorce, and child custody and access. Cases regarding senior citizens, including aid and support for the elderly, care homes and assisted living housing are all within the committee’s remit.

Større

Members

Tasks and responsibilities

The Social Affairs and Senior Citizens’ Committee addresses a variety of issues including aid and support for people with functional impairments, and disadvantaged and socially excluded children, adolescents and adults. Other topics within the committee’s remit include marriage, naming, separation, divorce, child custody, child’s place of residence and access. Within the senior citizens’ sphere, the committee addresses matters related to aid and support, etc. for the elderly, care homes and assisted living housing.

Its tasks and responsibilities can be subdivided into two primary areas:

handling of bills and motions
parliamentary scrutiny of government work.

The committee also ensures that it maintains a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of social and senior citizen political agendas.

Parliamentary scrutiny is exercised through, e.g. the committee members’ tabling questions to the Minister for Social Affairs and Senior Citizens or other ministers. Questions can be tabled in four ways: as questions in committee, to which the minister responds in writing, as questions in consultation, to one or more of which the minister is invited to respond orally at a meeting, Section 20 questions and enquiries.

The committee also calls so-called “expert meetings” and hearings, which are either open or closed to the public.

Organizations and members of the public are welcome to contact the Social Affairs and Senior Citizens’ Committee in writing or to make an appointment for an audience if they wish to notify the committee of a topic within its remit.

Specialist ministries

The committee’s specialist ministry is the Ministry for Social Affairs and Senior Citizens.

Contact the committee

Organisations and members of the public are welcome to contact or make an appointment for an audience with the Social Affairs and Senior Citizens' Committee if they wish to notify the committee of a topic within its remit.

Many professional organizations, associations, NGOs, think-tanks, research institutions and international organizations, etc. operate within the social affairs and senior citizens fields. Many of them have an interest in following the work of the committee and influencing legislation within the committee’s remit.

Visits and study trips

The committee occasionally makes visits and study trips in Denmark and abroad, to gather knowledge and inspiration. The purposes of visits and study trips vary but will usually be motivated by a desire on the part of the committee to gather knowledge and inspiration, e.g. in connection with the committee’s processing of a Bill.

Visits and study trips to institutions where legislation is applied on a daily basis and the staff who deal with it help to give committee members a better understanding of how legislation within the committee’s remit actually works. A study trip abroad may be motivated by a desire to learn more about how other countries have legislated and to benefit from their experience.

The committee also receives delegations e.g. from foreign parliaments.