A Parliamentary group is the Parliamentary translation of the political party or electoral coalition and has the function of converting its policies into Parliamentary initiatives and a programme of government. At the Parliament of Catalonia, at least five Members of Parliament from the same party or electoral coalition are required to form a Parliamentary group. The members of the group do not necessarily need to have been elected from the same constituency. Only one Parliamentary group can be formed per coalition or party. Should it be necessary, there is also a Mixed, (or Independent) Group for Members of Parliament who do not belong to any party group or electoral coalition. Members who leave or are expelled from their group become unaffiliated Members for the remainder of the Legislative term, unless they return to their original Parliamentary group, with the prior consent of the corresponding spokesperson. However, if all members of a political party that is part of a coalition or federation are expelled from a Parliamentary group, the affected Members of Parliament must join the Mixed Group.

Each group has a spokesperson representing it for all purposes. The groups have offices and material resources in the Parliament building to enable them to carry out their work. They may also call on expert consultants from their own party staff.

The spokesperson for each Parliamentary group, together with the President of the Parliament, one of the secretaries and the Secretary-General (or the representative of the legal department substituting him/her), make up the Committee of Spokespersons, whose most important functions are to establish the criteria that contribute to organising and facilitating business and debates in Parliament, as well as deciding which committee should analyse each bill or deal with different proposals. Other members of the Presiding Committee may also take part, as may a representative of the Government, as well as a member of each Parliamentary group to accompany the spokesperson or the person substituting him/her.

The Presiding Committee is the leading body of the House. It consists of a President, two vice-presidents and four secretaries, elected in separate votes by the Plenary Assembly at the start of a new Parliament. The most important functions of the Committee are: organising Parliamentary work, interpreting rules of procedure, and managing Parliamentary departments. The President of the Parliament represents the House, chairs all discussion and debate in accordance with the Rules of the House, which include establishing and maintaining order, and ensures that order is maintained generally in the House. When vacant, absent or unable to chair, the President is substituted by the vice-presidents in consecutive order. The secretaries supervise and authorise the minutes of the plenary assemblies, the Presiding Committee and the Board of Spokespersons. They also assist the President of the Parliament during sittings in ensuring that debates take place in an orderly manner and the voting procedure is followed, as well as assisting in carrying out the work of the House.

The meeting of all the Members in a sitting constitutes a Plenary Assembly. The Plenary Assembly is the supreme body of the House. All questions that fall within the authority of the Parliament of Catalonia, according to the Statute of Autonomy, are debated for the last and definitive time by the Plenary Assembly. For decisions taken to be valid, an absolute majority of Members must be in attendance, and the meeting must take place at the seat of Parliament. The Plenary Assembly is called (and, if necessary, adjourned) by the President of the Parliament on his/her own initiative, or at the request of at least two Parliamentary groups, or a fifth of the Members of Parliament. The calling of a Plenary Assembly must set out the agenda for the meeting. In Plenary sittings, Members of Parliament always occupy the same seats, grouped politically according to the Parliamentary group to which they belong. The President of the Generalitat and the ministers of the Government have a designated bench in the Assembly Hall. All ministers can attend the Plenary Assembly and take part in them, even if they are not Members of Parliament.

When the Plenary Assembly does not meet, during recess, between legislatures, or when Parliament has been dissolved, its functions are carried out by the Standing Committee. It consists of 23 members chosen by the Parliamentary groups in proportion with their number of seats, and is presided over by the President of the Parliament. At the start of a new Parliament, the Standing Committee must report to the Plenary Assembly on its decisions.

Parliamentary Working Committees are small groups made up of Members of Parliament in proportion to the number of members in each Parliamentary group. The working committees specialise in a particular issue dealt with by the House. Much of Parliament's work is handled through the committees. The committees formed by Parliament may be legislative or specific.

Legislative committees are those formed and designated as such by the Plenary Assembly and the Committee for Rules of Procedure, which drafts and revises the Rules of Procedure. During the week following the investiture of the President of the Generalitat, the Presiding Committee and the Board of Spokespersons proposes to the Plenary Assembly the number and scope of legislative committees, which must be approved by an absolute majority of the Plenary Assembly.

Furthermore, subject to the same requirements, the Plenary Assembly may agree to create other legislative committees or dissolve those it has already created.

These committees:

• - Prepare the debate held later in the Plenary Assembly concerning Government bills and members' bills that pertain to their specific fields of interest.
• - Receive information from Government members or ministers concerning their management of affairs.
• - May approve resolutions and summon the respective ministers to call them to account and inspect their administrative accounting.

Specific committees are those with a specific role or the task of interlocuting with certain institutions or public bodies. There are three types of committees: those created by the Rules of Procedure, those created by law, and those created by the Plenary Assembly (which may be follow-up, study or investigative committees). Study committees, investigative committees and follow-up committees analyse issues affecting society, investigate matters of public interest that fall within the Generalitat's powers, and specifically oversee the public actions and policies of the Government.

Legislative Committees

• - Institutional Affairs Committee
• - Justice, Law and Public Security Committee
• - Economy, Finance and Budget Committee
• - Regional Policy Committee
• - Environment and Housing Committee
• - Cultural Policy Committee
• - Education and Universities Committee
• - Industry, Energy, Trade and Tourism Committee
• - Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Committee
• - Social Welfare and Immigration Committee
• - Health Committee
• - Rules of Procedure Committee

Specific Committees (art. 54 RPC)

1. Set up by the Rules of Procedure:
   • - Committee for the Affairs of Members of Parliament
   • - Petitions Committee
   • - Committee for Classified Affairs
2. Set up by law:
   • - Committee for Overseeing the Activities of the Catalan Broadcasting Corporation
   • - Audit Office Committee
   • - Ombudsmanâ¿¿s Committee
3. Following-up committees, set up by the Plenary Assembly (art. 56 RPC):
   • - Committee for Foreign and European Union Affairs
   • - Women's Rights Committee
   • - Committee for Youth Policy
   • - Co-operation and Solidarity Committee
4. Study committees, set up by the Plenary Assembly (art. 57 RPC):
   • - Study Committee for Disabled Persons