This paper measures government acceptance of parliamentary committee recommendations: one of the ways in which a committee can demonstrate its effectiveness.

Of the reports in this sample recommending new action by the government, 60.0 per cent demonstrated a minimum level of effectiveness in that at least one of their recommendations was accepted. The most important factors correlated with a report’s effectiveness were the type of committee, the type of inquiry, the level of bipartisanship, the level of press coverage and whether a majority report contained recommendations.