A committee of senior MPs has said that departments and ministers are not doing enough to "engage with Parliament".

The Commons liaison committee, made up of select committee chairmen, on Friday published a report on the work of select committees in 2007.

It praised government initiatives unveiled last year, such as publishing a draft Queen's speech, which had given MPs greater opportunities to contribute to policy making.

But committee chairman Alan Williams said too many ministries are still seeking to avoid parliamentary scrutiny.

"Reports from select committees clearly play a role in identifying flaws in policy and means to correct those flaws," he said.

"While we were encouraged by the heightened emphasis on parliamentary scrutiny in the government's draft legislative programme, willingness to engage with Parliament is still not widespread enough.

"We would encourage all departments to look upon parliamentary scrutiny as an important process rather than a necessary evil, as sometimes seems to be the case."