The Committee was established in early 2005 to oversee the operation of the Waterways Ombudsman scheme and the independence and accessibility of the Ombudsman. The Committee has eight members. Of those, three (including the current chairman - Professor Jeffrey Jowell QC) are independent and three are appointed by the British Waterways Advisory Forum (ie from groups, such as users and businesses, with interests in waterways). The remaining two members are appointed by British Waterways. Full details of the membership of the Committee are given in the Annual Report and full details of their role in the terms of reference.

The main roles of the Committee are:

• the appointment (or removal from office) of the Ombudsman;
• keeping the operation of the scheme under review, both to ensure that it meets its purposes and that it is adequately funded;
• to receive reports on the method and adequacy of publicising the scheme;
• to publish an annual report.

Issues relating to the investigation or determination of complaints, both by British Waterways under its internal complaints procedure, and by the Ombudsman if subsequently referred to her, are matters for the Ombudsman alone, and the Committee has no part to play in those.