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To ask the Leader of the House how many mobile telephones, BlackBerrys and laptops were lost by his Office in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.
To ask the Leader of the House how many mobile telephones, BlackBerrys and laptops were lost by his Office in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.
None.
To ask the Leader of the House how much and what proportion of his Office's budget was spent on activities which were contracted out in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14; and how much and what proportion of his Office's budget he expects to be...
To ask the Leader of the House how much and what proportion of his Office's budget was spent on activities which were contracted out in (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2011-12, (d) 2012-13 and (e) 2013-14; and how much and what proportion of his Office's budget he expects to be...
The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. Our answer will be included in the response by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, shortly.
What recent guidance he has given to his ministerial colleagues on making statements to the House before they are made to the media.
What recent guidance he has given to his ministerial colleagues on making statements to the House before they are made to the media.
The ministerial code is clear: when Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of
Government policy should be made to Parliament in the first instance, and I regularly remind my colleagues of that.
The ministerial code is clear: when Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of
Government policy should be made to Parliament in the first instance, and I regularly remind my colleagues of that.
The ministerial code is clear: when Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of
Government policy should be made to Parliament in the first instance, and I regularly remind my colleagues of that.
What recent guidance he has given to his ministerial colleagues on making statements to the House before they are made to the media.
I am not aware of the media reports to which the hon. Lady refers. I will, of course, look at them, but as far as I am concerned announcements are made to the House first. I cannot always preclude speculation in the press, which is sometimes well informed and sometimes very badly informed. I do not necessarily reach the same conclusion, but I will ensure that I let her know what the situation is.
I am not aware of the media reports to which the hon. Lady refers. I will, of course, look at them, but as far as I am concerned announcements are made to the House first. I cannot always preclude speculation in the press, which is sometimes well informed and sometimes very badly informed. I do not necessarily reach the same conclusion, but I will ensure that I let her know what the situation is.
Does the Leader of the House think that it is acceptable that the media are reporting that the Government have paused the proposed sale of the Land Registry when the Business Secretary has not yet made a statement to the House?
The hon. Gentleman will know, and the House will have seen, that the Home Secretary will be making a statement. Indeed, I will be making a business statement, too. Sometimes it is necessary for the public to be told at what is, effectively, broadly the same time as Parliament itself.
The hon. Gentleman will know, and the House will have seen, that the Home Secretary will be making a statement. Indeed, I will be making a business statement, too. Sometimes it is necessary for the public to be told at what is, effectively, broadly the same time as Parliament itself.
That is all very well, but the Leader of the House has eight minutes and 14 seconds to tell the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister that they should not be making a speech to the media about their intention to legislate next week before a speech is made to this House.
To ask the Leader of the House what recent guidance he has given to his ministerial colleagues on making statements to the House before they are made to the media.
To ask the Leader of the House what recent guidance he has given to his ministerial colleagues on making statements to the House before they are made to the media.
The Ministerial Code is clear; when Parliament is in session the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance to Parliament.
I regularly remind my colleagues of this.
To ask the Leader of the House what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues about Private Members' Bills.
To ask the Leader of the House what recent discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues about Private Members' Bills.
I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues about legislation before the House, including Private Members' Bills.
To ask the Leader of the House what his policy is on hon. Members of the Sinn Fein Party formally taking their seat in the House.
To ask the Leader of the House what his policy is on hon. Members of the Sinn Fein Party formally taking their seat in the House.
The Government's view is that all Members elected to Westminster should take their seats.
However, whether or not elected members choose to participate fully in the business of the House of Commons once elected is a decision for MPs themselves.
While the Government is of the view that their constituents would be more fully represented if Sinn Fein MPs participated in all aspects of business at Westminster, it is a matter for the electorate if they choose to vote for candidates who have expressed an alternative view.
To ask the Leader of the House what guidance he has given to his ministerial colleagues about providing substantive answers to written questions.
To ask the Leader of the House what guidance he has given to his ministerial colleagues about providing substantive answers to written questions.
I regularly remind ministerial colleagues of their obligations to give accurate and truthful information to Parliament as set out in the Ministerial Code.
The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons provides guidance to all Departments on the practice of answering parliamentary questions. The guidance advises that all parliamentary questions should be accurate, brief and clear.
The full Guide is available on the Cabinet Office website at:
http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work
To ask the Leader of the House what visits each of the Ministers in his Office have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.
To ask the Leader of the House what visits each of the Ministers in his Office have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.
In February 2013, I visited the Scottish Parliament to examine parliamentary procedures and practices.
In May 2013, the Deputy Leader of the House and I undertook an overseas visit to the European Institutions in Brussels. This visit provided an opportunity to consider and promote the role of national parliaments, including the House of Commons, in the processes of European legislation.
In December 2013, the Deputy Leader of the House visited Northern Ireland to engage with various Northern Irish charities and campaign groups on the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill.
In February 2014, I and the Deputy Leader of the House visited the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff to examine parliamentary procedures and the work of the Petitions Committee.
To ask the Leader of the House how many questions to each Department did not receive a substantive answer by the time of prorogation; and how long each question had been waiting for an answer.
To ask the Leader of the House how many questions to each Department did not receive a substantive answer by the time of prorogation; and how long each question had been waiting for an answer.
This information is not held centrally and would be a matter for the individual Departments concerned.
My office collates wider departmental performance information for ordinary and named day parliamentary questions, which I submit in relation to each Session to the Procedure Committee. Each Department is required to set out in its evidence to the Procedure Committee, any factors which have caused delays in answering written questions.
Statistics relating to departmental performance for the 2012-13, 2010-12 and 2009-10 parliamentary Sessions were previously provided to the Committee and are available on the Parliament website. I expect to provide data for the last parliamentary Session shortly.
The Government are supporting the project being undertaken by the House to enable the electronic exchange of parliamentary questions and answers between Members and answering bodies. All Departments are fully engaged in the roll-out of this exciting project, and my office has successfully transferred to the live system.
The Government are supporting the project being undertaken by the House to enable the electronic exchange of parliamentary questions and answers between Members and answering bodies. All Departments are fully engaged in the roll-out of this exciting project, and my office has successfully transferred to the live system.
What steps he is taking to support the House in rationalising the processing of written questions and answers and in improving the service to hon. Members.
I expect the new system to save significant sums in this Parliament and across Departments, including by reducing the costs of publishing questions and answers. The new system will also improve reporting and transparency for Members and the public, through providing dedicated webpages for written answers.
I expect the new system to save significant sums in this Parliament and across Departments, including by reducing the costs of publishing questions and answers. The new system will also improve reporting and transparency for Members and the public, through providing dedicated webpages for written answers.
Will the Leader of the House tell us what effect the project will have on savings for the House and on the convenience of Members?
My hon. Friend will recall that we do not measure the average time taken to answer questions, but on the extent to which Departments meet the required standard, my recollection—I do not have the figures in front of me—is that the Office of the Leader of the House most consistently meets it. I might add that although the Department of Health had the largest number of questions, it was the second most successful in meeting the required standard. As for the poorest, my recollection is that although the Department for Education has made some modest improvement, it continues to strive to do better.
My hon. Friend will recall that we do not measure the average time taken to answer questions, but on the extent to which Departments meet the required standard, my recollection—I do not have the figures in front of me—is that the Office of the Leader of the House most consistently meets it. I might add that although the Department of Health had the largest number of questions, it was the second most successful in meeting the required standard. As for the poorest, my recollection is that although the Department for Education has made some modest improvement, it continues to strive to do better.
Will the Leader of the House tell the House which Department is the quickest at answering questions, which Department is the slowest and how the former might tutor the latter?
As a result of the changes that have been introduced in this Parliament, such as the election of Select Committee Chairs, the establishment of the Backbench Business Committee and more generous approaches to permitting urgent questions and allocating time for debating legislation, the ability of the House to scrutinise the Government has been much enhanced.
As a result of the changes that have been introduced in this Parliament, such as the election of Select Committee Chairs, the establishment of the Backbench Business Committee and more generous approaches to permitting urgent questions and allocating time for debating legislation, the ability of the House to scrutinise the Government has been much enhanced.
What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the House in scrutinising the Government.
I agree with my hon. Friend. I trust that it will not be interpreted as engaging the Clerk in the debate to say that I hope that Members throughout the House agree that what he said is absolutely true. It is important for such scrutiny to take place. I hope in the debate this afternoon to enhance the ability of this House to demonstrate to the public, whom we serve, that we not only debate the matters that are relevant to them, but use the opportunities that we have to hold the Executive to account.
I agree with my hon. Friend. I trust that it will not be interpreted as engaging the Clerk in the debate to say that I hope that Members throughout the House agree that what he said is absolutely true. It is important for such scrutiny to take place. I hope in the debate this afternoon to enhance the ability of this House to demonstrate to the public, whom we serve, that we not only debate the matters that are relevant to them, but use the opportunities that we have to hold the Executive to account.
I asked the question because that is my view also. I was very taken by the letter that you read out, Mr Speaker, from the Clerk of the House, for whom I have the greatest respect. He said that the House is
“a more effective scrutineer of the executive, and more topical, relevant and independent-minded”
than he has ever known it in his 42 years of service, so we must be doing something right.
The hon. Lady slightly anticipates what would more properly be a business question. At this stage, we tend to have Prorogation and the Queen’s Speech at this time of year rather than November, so they come together with the traditional Easter and Whitsun recesses. That creates a change in the structure of the calendar rather than necessarily an overall reduction in time spent in debate.
The hon. Lady slightly anticipates what would more properly be a business question. At this stage, we tend to have Prorogation and the Queen’s Speech at this time of year rather than November, so they come together with the traditional Easter and Whitsun recesses. That creates a change in the structure of the calendar rather than necessarily an overall reduction in time spent in debate.
However much the processes and procedures of the House have been improved, the Government seem to be trying to subvert them by having extremely long recesses. My understanding from the Table Office is that Westminster Hall will not sit again until 17 June. If, as we all expect, the Leader of the House is about to announce that we will rise on 14 or 15 May, it will mean that for more than a month we will have no opportunity to scrutinise Departments in detail. Will he at least agree to bring forward the Westminster Hall debates to 10 June?
What steps he is taking to support the House in rationalising the processing of written questions and answers and in improving the service to hon. Members.
What steps he is taking to support the House in rationalising the processing of written questions and answers and in improving the service to hon. Members.
The Government are supporting the project being undertaken by the House to enable the electronic exchange of parliamentary questions and answers between Members and answering bodies. All Departments are fully engaged in the roll-out of this exciting project, and my office has successfully transferred to the live system.
What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the House in scrutinising the Government.
What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the House in scrutinising the Government.
As a result of the changes that have been introduced in this Parliament, such as the election of Select Committee Chairs, the establishment of the Backbench Business Committee and more generous approaches to permitting urgent questions and allocating time for debating legislation, the ability of the House to scrutinise the Government has been much enhanced.