The government has announced that select committees will have the chance to assess the impact of new laws.

Leader of the Commons Harriet Harman announced in a written statement to MPs on Thursday that post-legislative scrutiny would be a "reality check" for ministers.

Under the plan, acts of Parliament will be subject to a progress check conducted by MPs as well as civil servants, three years after they been passed.

Government departments would publish a memorandum on appropriate acts and the relevant departmental select committee would then decide whether to conduct further scrutiny.

They will then have the choice of either a full in-depth inquiry or shorter committee hearings.

Harman said: "This government has introduced many reforms aimed at improving the quality of legislation.

"We also introduced for the first time last year a draft legislative programme. This was a very significant step, which opened up a part of the political process that previously had been taking place behind closed doors.

"It is producing greater transparency which makes government ultimately more accountable to the public for its actions, but we need to go further, as today's publication makes clear.

"This new system of post-legislative scrutiny is a valuable and proportionate response to a long-held view that there is a need to gain better understanding of how laws, which affect people's lives in wide-ranging ways, are working out in practice once they have come into force.

"It offers real potential benefits for improving further the quality of legislation and for policy making. By learning the lessons of how previous legislation has been implemented, it can provide a valuable contribution to the shape of future laws."